Paper trails for the history of Fluxus and Zaj: between document and art practice

Abstract

Fluxus and Zaj issue a challenge to the Historiography of Art as pioneers of Performance Art. Born in the beginning of the sixties, both experimental Neo-Avant-Gardes inaugurated this new kind of artistic practice, which emphasizes eventuality and multiplicity, and thus excludes the creation of concluded, closed, lasting works of art. The present paper deals with the difficulties that such a practice poses to Art Historians. It does so by means of a methodological approach of historiographical reconstruction, to which a critical analysis is applied, allowing for new ways of interpreting and understanding this challenge. Moreover, being carried out as a comparative analysis between both Zaj and Fluxus, this article points out relevant affinities and differences between them, helping outline the character and singularity of each one.