Nye Ffarrabas: Truth Is A Verb
At 92, Nye Ffarrabas, formerly Bici Forbes Hendricks, occupies a significant place not only in the postmodern art world but also in our global cultural zeitgeist. During the early and mid-1960s, she (as Bici) was part of New York City鈥檚 Fluxus community, an experimental and creative laboratory that viewed life and art as inseparable and, in some respects, one and the same.
This exhibition鈥擳ruth IS A Verb!鈥攆ocuses on works published and distributed by The Black Thumb Press, which Ffarrabas founded in 1965, with contributions from her then husband Geoff Hendricks, also a Fluxus artist. Black Thumb鈥檚 goal was to expand visual and verbal stimuli, encourage exploration, and investigate new forms of 鈥渋ntermedia,鈥� combining different media in unexpected ways. Truth IS A Verb! includes letters, postcards, and other text-based ephemera, such as a box of cards that provide instructions for different activities or how to achieve certain states of mind.
Ffarrabas and her fellow Fluxus artists made work that didn鈥檛 end with a product or an object鈥攚hat is typically considered 鈥渁rt.鈥� They chose to pursue the creative process rather than construct a fossil record. They developed, for example, musical scores to be performed, or kits that instructed people how to take specific steps in order to enact certain events. Ffarrabas contributed to this heady soup in many major ways, and corresponded and collaborated with artists who became household names鈥擸oko Ono, Claes Oldenburg, John Cage, George Brecht, John Lennon, Dick Higgins, George Maciunas, and many others鈥攜et her own work is still being discovered. She may be one of the most historically significant 鈥淯nderKnown Artists鈥� of our time.
One of Ffarrabas鈥檚creations that showed the spirit of shared interest and energy among Fluxus artists was 鈥淢ailing Cards,鈥� which she made鈥攐r conducted鈥攂etween 1965 and 1968, with Geoff Hendricks. They printed koans, aphorisms, and other small phrases, often accompanied by bold imagery, on small cards, which they sent out to fellow artists. Ffarrabas began with her and Hendricks鈥檚 own text-based and visual works; other artists and family members joined in to contribute. Many recipients responded by sending their own written musings back to Ffarrabas.
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At 92, Nye Ffarrabas, formerly Bici Forbes Hendricks, occupies a significant place not only in the postmodern art world but also in our global cultural zeitgeist. During the early and mid-1960s, she (as Bici) was part of New York City鈥檚 Fluxus community, an experimental and creative laboratory that viewed life and art as inseparable and, in some respects, one and the same.
This exhibition鈥擳ruth IS A Verb!鈥攆ocuses on works published and distributed by The Black Thumb Press, which Ffarrabas founded in 1965, with contributions from her then husband Geoff Hendricks, also a Fluxus artist. Black Thumb鈥檚 goal was to expand visual and verbal stimuli, encourage exploration, and investigate new forms of 鈥渋ntermedia,鈥� combining different media in unexpected ways. Truth IS A Verb! includes letters, postcards, and other text-based ephemera, such as a box of cards that provide instructions for different activities or how to achieve certain states of mind.
Ffarrabas and her fellow Fluxus artists made work that didn鈥檛 end with a product or an object鈥攚hat is typically considered 鈥渁rt.鈥� They chose to pursue the creative process rather than construct a fossil record. They developed, for example, musical scores to be performed, or kits that instructed people how to take specific steps in order to enact certain events. Ffarrabas contributed to this heady soup in many major ways, and corresponded and collaborated with artists who became household names鈥擸oko Ono, Claes Oldenburg, John Cage, George Brecht, John Lennon, Dick Higgins, George Maciunas, and many others鈥攜et her own work is still being discovered. She may be one of the most historically significant 鈥淯nderKnown Artists鈥� of our time.
One of Ffarrabas鈥檚creations that showed the spirit of shared interest and energy among Fluxus artists was 鈥淢ailing Cards,鈥� which she made鈥攐r conducted鈥攂etween 1965 and 1968, with Geoff Hendricks. They printed koans, aphorisms, and other small phrases, often accompanied by bold imagery, on small cards, which they sent out to fellow artists. Ffarrabas began with her and Hendricks鈥檚 own text-based and visual works; other artists and family members joined in to contribute. Many recipients responded by sending their own written musings back to Ffarrabas.
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