July 30, 2004
Happenings
Goings On in the 50s and 60s:
They were non-verbal, theatrical productions that abandoned the stage-audience structure, did away with the usual plot or narrative line of traditional theatre; made objects of the performers and set them within an overall design of environment, timing, sound, color and light. They were accidental, spontaneous and planned -- each a unique event shaped by the action of the audience that participated in it.
See: "Happenings in the New York Scene (1961)" (Kaprow, Allan, Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life, University of California Press, 2003) " …a happening cannot be reproduced. The few performances given of each work differ considerably...and the work is over before habits begin to set in.”
Posted by newradio at July 30, 2004 08:37 PM
