Performances will be held September 13th, 18th, and 27th.
The Fluxus Brothers Present: Good Art Bad Art will premiere as part of the Cannonball Festival on September 13th, 18th, and 27th at The MAAS Building with pay-what-you-can ticket options available August 1st at fringearts.com. This work is co-created by longtime collaborators Morgan FitzPatrick Andrews and Mason Rosenthal, who have been making experimental art in Philadelphia for over 15 years. Andrews and Rosenthal founded the Medium Theatre Company together in 2012. Rosenthal is also a founding member of the award-winning Philadelphia company Lightning Rod Special (The Appointment (NYT' "Best Theater of 2019") and Underground Railroad Game (2016 Obie Award for "Best New American Theatre Work," selected by NYT in 2017 as one of the "25 Best Plays of the Last 25 Years"). For Good Art Bad Art Mason Rosenthal is joined by real life brother Ben Rosenthal to form The Fluxus Brothers with Andrews as their artistic forefather, Dada.
"While the Fluxus art movement was hugely influential, I don't know that many people could name a Fluxus artist, or articulate Fluxus' mission. We wanted to make a performance that would simultaneously educate an audience about the movement's history, while giving them an experiential sense of its impact. Something stimulating for the brain and the body. With the abrupt closure of UArts, where I taught in the Theater Department, our Flux show is also grappling with the precarity of artists and artistic legacies." - Mason Rosenthal
The performance will include a sampling of Fluxus works, including "Drip Music" by George Brecht (1959), "Proposition: Make a Salad" by Alison Knowles (1962), "Wall Piece for Orchestra" by Yoko Ono (1962), "Solo for Rich Man" by George Maciunas (1962), "Solo for Topless Cellist" by Nam June Paik (1965), and "4'33"" by a major influence on Fluxus: avant-garde composer, John Cage (1952). The Fluxus Brothers and their Dada will also perform Fluxus-inspired performances of their own creation, as they reflect on their collaborative relationships to each other, and on their place (or not) in the history of experimental art.
"PROMOTE A REVOLUTIONARY FLOOD IN ART. PROMOTE living art, anti-art, promote NON ART REALITY." Lithuanian American artist, George Maciunas, wrote this call to action in 1963. Maciunas was the central coordinator of Fluxus, an international community of interdisciplinary artists engaged in experimental performances that emphasized the artistic process over the finished product
MORGAN FITZPATRICK ANDREWS (co-creator/performer, "Dada") has been making music, theatre, and banana bread in Philadelphia and beyond for over 25 years. Recent accomplishments include: orchestrating a cardboard pinball arcade and launching a 100-person carnival into outer space. Morgan taught performance at Tufts University, Socially Engaged Art for Goddard College, and leads community workshops through Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed. He curates exhibitions and performances at Studio 34, a yoga and arts space in West Philly. www.morganfitzp.org
MASON ROSENTHAL (co-creator/performer, "Flux Brother 1") is an award-winning performance maker. He is a founding member of Lightning Rod Special. LRS' recent work includes "Nosejob" (part of this year's Fringe Festival at Theatre Exile), "SPEECH" (Fringe '22), "The Appointment" (NYT' "Best Theater of '19") and "Underground Railroad Game" ('16 Obie Award for "Best New American Theatre Work"). With Morgan FitzPatrick Andrews, Mason is also a founding member of The Medium Theatre Company, and one half of the famous performance art duo Ben and Ben's Brother (see the brothers' other Cannonball Festival project "The Bumbling Foriegner" [sic] with Sohrab Haghverdi at Christ Church). www.masonrosenthal.weebly.com
BENJAMIN ROSENTHAL (co-creator/performer, "Flux Brother 2") is a performance and visual artist, credit card churner, and professional gambler whose recent work "The Self Portrait Series" was presented clandestinely in the rooms of Hilton Hotels, at The University of Texas (supported by Austin Arts Council), and in NYC's Exponential Festival. He is a part of the famous performance art duo Ben and Ben's Brother (see the brothers' other Cannonball Festival project "The Bumbling Foriegner" [sic] with Sohrab Haghverdi at Christ Church). www.benandbrother.horse
Cannonball Festival, produced by Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, is a curated performance series taking place across several venues from September 1st through the 29th, concurrent with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Learn more at www.cannonballfestival.org.
The Fluxus Brothers Present: Good Art Bad Art
VENUE: The Maas Building @ 1320 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Fri, Sep 13, 2024 6:30 PM
Wed, Sep 18, 2024 5:00 PM
Fri, Sep 27, 2024 6:30 PM
TICKETS: General Admission of $20 with Pay-What-You-Can tickets available. No one turned away for lack of funds. Tickets available at fringearts.com and www.cannonballfestival.org starting August 1st.
RUNNING TIME: 60 Minutes
CREATOR CREDITS:
Morgan FitzPatrick Andrews (Co-Creator, Performer, "Dada")
Benjamin Rosenthal (Co-Creator, Performer, "Flux Brother 2")
Mason Rosenthal (Co-Creator, Performer, "Flux Brother 1")
Special thanks to Savannah Reich
PHOTO CREDITS: John Muse
CONTENT ADVISORIES: Accessible for all ages. However, the performance includes male rear nudity, references to gun violence, and moments of optional audience participation.
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