Flux Ping-Pong

As one of the leading figures of Fluxus, George Maciunas attracted many artists from the United States, Europe and Japan in the 1960s to gather around the idea that art should be accessible, easy to understand, and entertaining. His works draw on interactions between various fields, such as experimental music, architecture, literature, linguistics and the visual arts. Maciunas’ "Flux Ping-Pong" presents an unconventional table and a set of rackets – the table has been cut in half, tilted, has holes, and no net; while the rackets also contain holes or are modified with various materials attached to them which make them unhandy to use in a customary way. Competition is automatically done away with as the rules, as well as the physical and strategic skills needed to play and win, have been invalidated. The work has now become the harbinger of a new game in which players must invent their own rules, and winning is replaced by mutual enjoyment.