The Fluxus Newspaper

The Fluxus Newspaper collects all eleven newspapers published by the Fluxus art collective between January 1964 and March 1979. The newspapers were edited by an ever-changing team of artists known as the Fluxus Editorial Council for Fluxus and every issue, except the last two, was designed by Fluxus founder George Maciunas.

Although published irregularly, the newspapers were used to promote Fluxus events and publications, especially the group’s famous multiples and Fluxkits, with advertising materials, order forms, and pricelists interspersed throughout. More than just a space for promotion and information, the Fluxus newspapers featured the work of over sixty artists as well as appropriated newspaper headlines, advertisements, articles, and comic strips that are indicative of the group’s anti-art sensibility and characteristic humor.

Issues of the newspapers were originally designated as cc V TRE after the earlier, one-off publication V TRE, which artist George Brecht released on occasion of the Yam Festival (1963). The use of “cc” in these early issues indicated that the publication was a copy of Brecht’s original version. After the first two releases, the editors started to play with various other titles containing “V TRE,” producing issues titled cc Valise e ThReE, Vacuum TRapEzoid, and Vaseline sTREet, among others.

The Fluxus Newspaper is exemplative of the “do-it-yourself” creative attitude characteristic of Fluxus––an approach that is collaborative, interdisciplinary, anti-commercial, humorous, and open to anyone. The periodical is also an early example of the artist newspaper, a medium which grew out of the underground press movement and flourished in the late 60s and 70s as artists began to seek new mediums for presenting and distributing their work.