George Brecht was a key member of, and influence on, Fluxus, the international group of avant-garde artists centred on George Maciunas, having been involved with the group from the first performances in Wiesbaden 1962 until Maciunas' death in 1978.
16 Facts About George Brecht
2.
George Brecht enlisted for military service in 1943, and it was whilst he was stationed near the Black Forest, Germany, 1945, that he changed his surname to 'Brecht' - 'not in reference to Bertolt Brecht, but because he liked the sound of the name'.
3.
George Brecht's only son Eric was born in New Jersey in 1953.
4.
Whilst working as a chemist, George Brecht became increasingly interested in art that explored chance.
5.
In 1957, George Brecht sought out the artist Robert Watts, after seeing his work exhibited at Douglass College, Rutgers University, where Watts taught.
6.
George Brecht studied with John Cage between 1958 and 1959, during which time he invented, and then refined, the Event Score which would become a central feature of Fluxus.
7.
George Brecht became a leader; and immediately he influenced not only me, but everybody else: Jackson Maclow, Higgins, Hansen.
8.
George Brecht Segal stopped by, and so did Dine, Whitman and Oldenburg.
9.
George Brecht had replaced this with a world permeated with music.
10.
In October 1959, fresh from studying with Cage, George Brecht organized his first one-man show at the Reuben Gallery, New York.
11.
Fluxus was to grow out of Maciunas' friendship with the artists centred on these classes; his conception of Fluxus was based on LEF, a communist organization set up in Russia in the 1920s to help create a new socialist culture Whilst it is unlikely George Brecht agreed with Maciunas politically, he strongly agreed with the notion of the unprofessional status of the artist, the de-privileging of the author, and appreciated Maciunas' ability at organization and design.
12.
George Brecht would remain a prominent member of Fluxus until Maciunas' death, 1978.
13.
The black chair was placed in the bathroom, whilst the yellow chair was placed outside on the street, and was being sat on by Claes Oldenburg's mother - deep in conversation - when George Brecht arrived for the private view.
14.
George Brecht started a series called The Book of the Tumbler on Fire in 1964, and exhibited the first 56 at the Fischback Gallery NY in early 1965, shortly before leaving the US.
15.
From late 1971 George Brecht lived in Cologne, where he died, after a number of years of failing health, on December 5,2008.
16.
George Brecht lived with Donna Jo Brewer for a number of years between.