Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson is an American expiremtal performance artist. She is the master of "audio drag", the talking stick and many other experimental musical instruments. She is best known for her single "O superman" which hit the top of the UK pop charts. 

I really was impressed with Anderson's whole image and intelligence. She contributed so many musical instruments that changed the course of the way sound could be replicated, changed, and reproduced.

Klaus Nomi

I found Klaus Nomi to be very interesting. He is recognized for his AMAZING vocal range and stage persona.  He aways wore heavy makeup, unusual outfits, and rocked his signature hair due. While watching the video about him during class i was immediately reminded of the opera singers and how they would castrate boys at a young age so their voice wouldn't change.

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was a sculpture and performance artist that worked within the Fluxux movement during the 1960's. He was deeply involved with German politics. I found it interesting that the hat that he is recognized for always wearing was to cover up a war wound.The wound earned him a "wound badge" awarded by the Nazis which was the most highly honored, since it had to be "bought with blood". Although Beuys is highly against war and Nazism, his art was highly influenced by many of his experiences and views on the war and politics.

Photocopy project

FLUXUS

The Fluxus movement surfaced in New York in the 60's, then worked its way to Europe and evetually Japan. Influenced by Dada, Bauhaus, and Zen, Fluxus objects and performances are known for minimalistic approaches and gestural movements with in many cases, a risque burlesque standpoint. 

Often viewed as pranksters, the Fluxus performers were a group of radical leaders that aimed to change the social and political views of society in their time period. Yoko Ono is one of the best-known Fluxus artists.  

Extreme performance art & ko murobushi

Last class we discussed the The Viennese Aktionists and extreme performance art. The films were sexual, political, violent, and pretty gross. They followed the concept based on the natural aspects of human species- reproduction,sex,eating, and even explored all the wonderful way of ridding wastes out of the body.

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Ko Murobushi is one of the greatest Butoh-dancers. Along with Ushio Ama- gatsu and Akaji Maro, he founded the longest running Butoh dance company called Dairakudan. In 1974 he created the Butoh-magazine “Hageshii Kisetsu” and founded Ariadone (female Butoh Company) and Sebi (a male Butoh Company). Although his performances shocked the Japanese public they have been highly acknowledged in other locations.

Bauhaus

Walter Gropious founded Bauhaus architecture in Germany in the 1920s. Bauhaus inspired buildings are usually cubic and favor 90 degrees angle with a plan open floor plan. It shys aways from decoration and stays with a asymmetrical pattern of design.

The Bauhaus school of design was open from1919 to 1933. The concepts taught were greatly influenced by the machine age. The school advised its 700 students to forget everything they knew about design and targeted to merge all the arts under the concept of design.  With students such as Vassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, and Paul Klee one can see that The Bauhaus school of design was prominent.