Address: 66 West 12th Street

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Description: In 1966, Fluxus founder and counter cultural activist George Maciunas became captivated with the idea of artist cooperatives as a vehicle for the liberation of artists. Beyond providing artists with a place to live and work, he wanted to establish collective workshops, food-buying cooperatives and theaters to “link the strengths of various media together and bridge the gap between the artist community and the surrounding society” (Simpson). Inspiration for Maciunas can be traced back to 1960, when he attended composition classes taught by the electronic music composer Richard Maxfield, a former student of John Cage at the New School for Social Research. The class was a refuge for artists who sought to break out of traditional molds - its environment was exhilarating for Maciunas. At the New School, Maciunas met composer of minimalistic music La Monte Young; conceptual artist, composer and chemist, by profession George Brecht; print maker, composer and poet Dick Higgins; and poet Mac Low. They, along with Allison Knowles, Yoko Ono, Robert Watts, Jonas Mekas and Nam June Paik would become part of Fluxus’ inner circle. (Bernstein & Shapiro 39). Fluxus attracted artists who chose to break from conventions; it focused on creating anti-art. The New School salon also included Al Hansen, well known for his Hershey chocolate bar wrapper collages and his grandson the rock musician Beck. All of the artists would become friends and artistic collaborators of Maciunas (Bernstein & Shapiro 39).

Description Citation #1: Simpson, Charles, “The Achievement of Territorial Community” in SoHo: The Artist in the City. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1981. Print. pp. 153-188

Description Citation #2: Bernstein, Royslyn, and Shael Shapiro. Illegal Living. Vilnius: Jono Mekas Foundation, 2010. Print.

Location: POINT (-73.9971849703739650 40.7356665994731273)