Happening is what? Examples in art

Modern art involves a mixture of colors, extravaganza, which can not be taken away. One of its genres is happening. This is literally the art of action. In it, the spectator himself is a demiurge. He does not ask "Waltz happening", but actively takes part in everything, improvising and mixing all known styles and techniques. The boundary between the viewer and the artist in contemporary art is almost erased, sometimes creating the impression that they are changing places. Happenings are often held in crowded public places. For example, in the metro, at the station, city squares. For the first time, these events began in the 1950s. Among the first was Allan Caprou, the author of the term.

Description

This form of modern art, like happening, examples of which can be found today at a social event and at a party, first appeared in the 1950-1960s. The first to use it was John Cage. His student Allan Caprou came up with the name for this "spontaneous and unsystematic theatrical events". He offered to drink wine on the street with an unfamiliar simple passer-by. This was his first happening. Representatives of this area do not think about the meaning, so the actions can even be so simple, but it's still art. Among them Boyce, Dine, Cage, Kaplan, Oldenburg, Rauschenberg, Lebel, Liechtenstein.

Happening is a multidisciplinary style, which is characterized by non-linear narrative and active participation in the action of the audience. The author can think over the key elements. However, if everything goes not in accordance with his idea, then there is nothing to stop and start again. The main thing is a process, not a result. Happening involves improvisation of all actors. The latter include ordinary people who passed by. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression through creativity. In the 1960s, the term was used in a broader sense. Then the event could be called a formal event, and a meeting of friends playing billiards. In principle, this is correct, since the very purpose of this style is to blur the boundaries between everyday life and creativity. However, today the narrow meaning of the term is more often used.

Performance, happening and other types of neo-art: general and differences

As early as 1966, Rauschenberg insisted that there were no criteria for new artistic forms. However, until the boundary between them is yet so blurred that they can not be classified at all. In differences - strength. Since modern art involves the creation of something completely new, it is important for us to understand the weaknesses of the already existing one.

Happening appeared as a trend in the 1950-1960s in the context of pop art. A decade later, it arose in conceptualism. For such a direction as happening, photo and video shooting are not mandatory, but are not prohibited. However, the author of the idea does not record all that is happening, as is customary in performing the performance. It is characterized by a clear study of the scenario. Happening does not involve any planning and relies entirely on interactivity and improvisation. In fact, there is no author in it. After all, each viewer can turn the action upside down.

In the performance is more important is the creative realization of the position of the artist, and not the interaction between the participants. Happening turns everyday into art. Performance does not imply the duplication of ordinary actions, but the creation of a new world that, for spectators, should replace reality for a while. Happening affirms freedom of expression for every person. Performance - only for the author.

Gunther Sachs and his contribution to the development of art

The film "Happening in White" at one time made a splash among the representatives of bohemia. However, he remained virtually unknown to the simple spectator. Nevertheless, it was in this picture that the slowing down of shooting was used for the first time, to which the modern spectator is so used. Gunther Sachs always aspired to be the first in everything. He began to collect his collection of contemporary art, when it was not yet fashionable. Gunther introduced Europe to the works of Andy Warhol, and America was forced to love Claudia Schiffer. During his life he managed to excel in a variety of spheres. Among them - the cinema.

In 1972, the International Olympic Committee awarded the first prize to his painting "Happening in White". But the cinema was not the only hobby of Zachs. He made brilliant photographs, practiced sports, created his own clothes, opened museums and galleries and even studied astrology, although their importance is denied by modern science. Gunther Sachs always liked to experiment. For example, he was the first to take a naked model for a glossy magazine. Photos of Sachs are still exhibited at exhibitions around the world.

Origin of the direction

For the first time, Allan Caprou used the term "happening" in 1957 to describe the action taken at an art picnic on the George Segal farm. In 1958, the essay "The Legacy of Jackson Pollock" was published. In it, Capro also uses this term. Gradually, he came into use. The difficulty was that it's hard enough to describe happenings. It can be anything. Worthrip and Montfort give their definition of this term. Happenings called performances and events held by Allan Capro during the 1950-1960 period and included theatrical elements, but implying limited involvement in the action of the audience. However, this definition is too narrow. In 1972, Gary Botting gave this interpretation: "The happenings cast aside the matrix of the story and the plot and replaced it with an even more complex - incident and event."

Caprou was a student of John Cage. The latter was the author of several musical happenings in 1952. Therefore, it is Cage sometimes called the founder of the direction. However, this is a controversial proposition. Since it was Caprou who first connected music and art. The whole point of happening in blurring the boundary between real life and creativity. And for this you need not only music, but at least some visual images, and better - also tastes, smells, tactile elements. And happening in art has nothing to do with the author's imagination. They are taken from real life, because it itself is richer than any, even the most talented, images of imagination.

Gradually, happening turned into a new style of modern art. Its "chip" was the absence of boundaries between the viewer and the author. These roles in the ordinary sense of the word here do not exist at all. To date, happenings are quite common. They are organized not only by representatives of creative bohemia, but also by ordinary people. However, many still did not even hear of such a direction. Sometimes people participate in such an action, but do not even think that they have become familiar with contemporary art. However, the role of this style is constantly growing. In the era of the knowledge economy and the information society, more and more people are trying to express themselves. And now the generally accepted fact is that in order to engage in art, education is not necessary.

Comparison with plays

Happening is a style that implies an organic connection between creativity and the environment. Caprou believed that he allows you to throw away for a moment the correct manners and know the real life. And this decision is always spontaneous. It can make you feel dirty. Life is not always beautiful, but a person should appreciate all its manifestations. This is true freedom. And even in such conditions there is a hope for development. Happenings have no philosophy or plot, it's pure improvisation.

The author can constantly think through key events, but this does not mean that they will be realized. Each "spectator" is an active participant in the action. Therefore, it can develop in the most unpredictable way. And there is no catastrophe in this. If the author's vision does not coincide with the actual development of the event, then you do not need to overplay everything. This is the main difference with the play. The latter always makes sense. Each word in the play reflects the author's vision. Her plot does not reflect the stream of thoughts of the audience. The viewer of the play does not participate in any way. He is a third-party observer, who can appreciate his quality.

Happening can not fail. Participants can be collected in advance, but if they do not come, then this is not a catastrophe. You can always attract viewers from the street. With the play, things are very different. Actors need to pay for work, scenery sometimes costs a lot of money, so success depends on the number of tickets sold. In happening, the process is much more important than the result. Even when the real action and the idea of the author are completely different things, one can not say that something went wrong. After all, the result is not important. Unsuccessful can be called only that happening, whose author insists on his vision, forgetting about the freedom of creativity of the public. Refusal to improvise is the death of this style.

As Red Grum noted, happening suggests that no one knows what exactly is happening. And in this he is extremely similar to real life. If the play is a complete work in which the author has laid down a certain morality, then happening is a pure improvisation. As in any other day-to-day situation, in this action everyone acts as he wants, and then sees the consequences of his decisions.

Contribution to the development of digital technologies

Happenings promoted the development of means of communication. They largely determined their modern appearance. Happenings allowed artists to engage the audience in problems. People were able to participate in the work in real time. Wide-known musicians from the band Jass Vision Trio, who play jazz improvisations. An interesting variety is political happening. He questions the seriousness of the authorities. An example is the mass demonstrations of a quasi-party organization called "Subtropical Russia". They advocate a decrease in the boiling point of water to 50 degrees Celsius and for climate change of the country towards a warmer one. This is a kind of protest against the absurdity of the power structure and the decisions made in it.

In Russia

Considering the museum happening, you can not help remembering the Petersburg "Trikster". It is divided into two sections: child and adult. The museum of laughter allows the visitor to interact directly with the exhibits. Here, art is combined with real life, giving a simple person a brilliant opportunity of self-expression. Montage is another example of holding happenings in Russia. They are held in many cities of Russia and neighboring countries. The first monstration took place in 2004 in Novosibirsk. Since then, they are held every year. The difference between monsters from flash mobs and performances is the absence of a script. The only thing that the participants are informed in advance is the meeting place. The number is already known - May 1 of each year. Participants bring with them posters on which absurd slogans are written.

The monsters question political demonstrations. They are a form of protest, expanding the boundaries of rights and freedoms. Although the slogans on them and are apolitical, but the monstrations contribute to increasing social activity of the population. To date, they are held annually in such Russian cities as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Petrozavodsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Kursk, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, Perm, Tomsk, Simferopol, Yaroslavl, Tyumen. From the cities of neighboring countries can be identified Chisinau, Riga and Beijing.

Philosophy of Contemporary Art

Happening in art is not a new style, as Caprou explained, but a strong-willed action. It is an urgent need of every person. Not so important is the professionalism of this art, as its existentiality. The need for participation in the happening is laid in the very nature of man. Caprou believed that as soon as the artist was recognized and started paying for his work, he lost his right to freedom of creativity. Now he has to constantly match the tastes of his audience. This may not be his intention, but it will happen. And this is not the fault of the public. As a result, his work begins to degenerate, the images are repeated, and the novelty disappears forever. Caprou said that the public's task is not to protect the author's freedom of expression, but the latter may well give up fame if he does not know how to cope with its consequences.

Festival as a kind of happening

Such annual events as Burning Man and the Fair in Oregon, contribute to the popularization of this style among ordinary people. Festivals are positive and successful examples of happenings. In such events, anyone can participate and try to create something amazing and unique. In fact, the festival does not assume the presence of spectators in the usual sense for us. Someone is the author of the idea. But everyone can become a demiurge and change the course of events.

All beauty in spontaneity and improvisation. In this happening is like a real life. He actually is. After all, there is no border between art and life. However, not all festivals are happening. This style refers only to those that do not have a previously invented scenario. Good examples are the Burning Man and the Oregon Fair. Every year they attract tens of thousands of people who want to share their ideas with one another and implement them.

Good happening is inspirational!

Allan Caprou, the founder of the direction, a man who in the 1950s suggested that people on the street drink a glass of wine from the hands of a stranger and thus become familiar with art, wrote instructions to help all novice demiurgeons. It illustrates well what a happening is. Examples of Capro inspire and give food for thought even to people far from art. Here is the instruction in the abbreviation:

1. First you need to forget everything that you know about traditional art. You can not fixate on forms. Modern art does not imply the writing of paintings, the production of plays, the writing of music, or the filming of films. Happening is simultaneously all of the above, and something completely new.
2. The line between life and art should be as thin as possible. A truly talented happening makes forget about its existence even the author himself.
3. Images from real life are always much deeper than those taken from the head. Therefore, we need to take the real situation and turn it into an art. You can extract infinitely from a simple trip to the store.
4. Experiment and violation of space - this is a feature of a form of modern art, like happening. The theater assumes the unity of place and action. Happening can be carried out anywhere. You can start on a nearby avenue, and finish in a nearby city or on another continent.
5. Everything should happen in real time. And there is no need to coordinate the actions of all participants. In happening for real.
6. In actions there should be no artificiality. Do not think about the golden section, the poetic means of expressiveness of speech and mathematical progressions. Our brain and itself is quite capable to give shape to natural things.
7. In order to create happening, you need to be a part of the world. It makes no sense to spend a few hundred dollars on hiring a bulldozer, if he is already laying the road somewhere. You just need to go to this place and include in your happening road worker. If your idea suggests something completely unreal, then it is better to abandon it at once.
8. It is necessary to cooperate with local authorities, rather than confront them. So everything can be done much easier.
9. The meaning of happening is not to hone all the actions to perfection. This is typical of traditional art. Once starting, happening can not be stopped or restarted.
10. Each idea can be implemented only once.
11. Happening can not be observed from the side. It must be actively involved, physically involved. And this applies not only to the "spectators", but also to the author.

Happenings and performances: assessing their artistic content

Modern art is extremely diverse. Artists, at last, managed to win to themselves freedom of creativity. Now they easily break down the walls between genres, directions and styles. But this is not the end either. Happening style broke the wall between art and real life, the viewer and the author. Sometimes it is viewed as a kind of performance. However, this is not entirely true. Of course, the nominal border between these two areas of modern art is very thin, but sometimes it is useful to understand where it is going. What is common to them is that creative experience is placed above the final result. Performance and happening in music, images, smells, tastes, touches seeks to show the original idea. However, each participant can turn everything upside down. Both styles are characterized by situationality and shocking. However, the most important difference between happening and performance is that in it the spectator is also a demiurge at once, the plot is created along the way based on the improvisations of all participants in the action.

Initially, both styles were quite radical. However, today they are increasingly becoming the character of the show and are often used at parties, social events, presentations. But if hopping is characterized by the transition of art to real life, the performance, on the contrary, assumes that everyday life disappears, giving way to another world invented by the author. However, in both cases the interpretation depends on the viewers. Performance, happening and other types of modern art over time, more and more merge. But blurring the boundaries between them is a positive phenomenon. The disappearance of excessive dogmatic performance and the lack of control of happening is the way to an even better interaction between the viewer and the author, everyday life and art.