Wedding in Denmark: In which the author’s marriage becomes part of a Fluxus event . . .

Fluxrites are the Fluxus activities that involve people at large. They are the least exclusive of all Fluxforms, the closest to an ideal of work or play that anybody can do. The first such event I went to was Geoff and Bici Hendricks’s Fluxdivorce, which took place on June 24, 1971, at their house in Manhattan. The Hendrickses had two children and had been married for 10 years. Included in the event was a division of property in their bedroom—wedding documents, clothes, double bed, wicker loveseat and so forth. The items were all literally cut in half with paper cutter, scissors, ax and power saw. A political text was implicit in the motive and outcome of the event: a same-sex (re)identification for each partner, best symbolized by a tug-of-war in their backyard as Hendricks and his wife were separated, the men pulling on a rope secured around him, the women on a rope around her. Fluxdivorce was followed by a life as gay and lesbian, respectively, for the two principals. (Relics and memorabilia of this Fluxdivorce are on view in a vitrine in the touring exhibition ”In the Spirit of Fluxus.”) Read More