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| Experimental Intermedia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Experimental Intermedia |
| Formation | 1960s |
| Founder | Dick Higgins |
| Type | Arts collective |
| Location | New York City |
Experimental Intermedia Experimental Intermedia emerged in the 1960s as a nexus for artists exploring hybrid forms combining text, sound, performance, and visual art. Rooted in transatlantic avant-garde exchanges, it fostered collaborations among figures associated with Fluxus, Concrete Poetry, Conceptual Art, and performance avant-gardes. The movement influenced and intersected with practitioners active around institutions and events such as the New York School, Judson Church, Black Mountain College, Tate Modern, and Carnegie Hall.
Experimental Intermedia denotes practices that merge activities associated with figures like Dick Higgins, Nam June Paik, John Cage, Yoko Ono, Fluxus ensembles, and collectives such as LOGO, emphasizing process over object. It encompasses works related to Concrete Poetry, Happenings, Performance Art, Sound Art, Mail Art, and early Electronic Music experiments by artists connected to venues like Merce Cunningham Dance Company, The Kitchen, MoMA PS1, and Guggenheim Museum. The scope includes collaborations across networks with writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Robert Creeley, Ed Sanders, and theorists like Marshall McLuhan, positioning the practice within broader cultural events like the 1968 protests and exhibitions at Hayward Gallery.
Early strands trace to transnational exchanges among practitioners from Duchamp-influenced circles, Fluxus organizers, and composers from the Cologne School. Seeded by publications and scores circulated by Something Else Press and figures like Dick Higgins and Fluxus members George Maciunas, the work grew through performances at sites including Carnegie Hall, Judson Memorial Church, and festivals such as Whitney Biennialside events and Festival d'Avignon presentations. Cross-pollination with Beat Generation poets and experiments by La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass expanded sound practices, while intersections with visual artists linked to Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Yves Klein shaped multidisciplinary exhibitions.
Prominent practitioners include Dick Higgins (intermedia scores), Nam June Paik (video pieces), John Cage (indeterminate scores), George Brecht (event scores), Yoko Ono (instructional art), Allan Kaprow (Happenings), Fluxus members Ben Vautier and Takako Saito, and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Olson who participated in intermedia events. Notable works and gatherings involve Score publications by Something Else Press, video installations by Nam June Paik exhibited alongside works by Laurie Anderson, sound pieces by La Monte Young and Tony Conrad, and performances that included collaborators from The Living Theatre, Merce Cunningham, and Judson Dance Theater.
Techniques draw on event scores, indeterminacy, collage, montage, live electronics, looping, circuit bending, tape splicing, and instruction-based performances practiced by artists such as John Cage, Fluxus participants, and electronic experimenters like Morton Subotnick and Elliott Carter adjuncts. Methodological approaches include mail-based exchange networks popularized by Ray Johnson and Mail Art scenes, multimedia installation strategies employed by Bruce Nauman and Dan Flavin, and collaborative improvisation seen with musicians from Free Jazz circles including Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra affiliates.
Institutions and platforms that nurtured Experimental Intermedia include The Kitchen, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Serpentine Gallery, Carnegie Hall, and artist-run spaces linked to Black Mountain College alumni. Collaborations extended to composers and ensembles tied to Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, performers from Judson Dance Theater, and poets associated with City Lights Booksellers & Publishers and Grove Press. Festivals and events such as Fluxus Festivals, Performa Biennial, and programs at Walker Art Center further institutionalized the practice.
Critical response ranged from acclaim in avant-garde circles around journals like Fluxus-adjacent publications and reviews in Artforum to controversy in mainstream outlets during exhibitions at Whitney Biennial and performances connected to The Living Theatre. Influence spread to later movements including Video Art practitioners, Performance Art figures, and postmodern curators at institutions such as Tate Modern and MoMA. Scholars and critics including Rosalind Krauss, Lucy Lippard, Hannah Arendt-era commentators, and historians writing for October (journal) contextualized the work within shifts evident after events like the 1968 protests and in the wake of technological changes driven by companies like Bell Labs.
Contemporary iterations incorporate digital media, interactive installations, algorithmic composition, augmented reality, and streaming performances used by artists associated with Eyebeam, Rhizome, Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, and labs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology such as MIT Media Lab. Current practitioners draw on legacies from Nam June Paik, Laurie Anderson, Christian Marclay, and institutions like The Kitchen while engaging platforms such as YouTube, SoundCloud, and networks exemplified by Rhizome and Creative Time. Cross-disciplinary residencies at Banff Centre, Wysing Arts Centre, and university programs at Goldsmiths, University of London continue to propagate intermedia practices.