27 April (Fri) 5:00pm-6:30pm
Room WLB 103, Lam Woo International Conference Centre, Shaw Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University, 34 Renfrew Road, Kowloon Tong
Since the 1960’s, Ben has been mixing life and art to create performances through street actions such as “Look at me, it’s enough” or “I sign the horizon”. One of the immediate consequences of his performances is to erase the distance between art and life, up to the point of proclaiming they are one and the same.
These gestures are continued and amplified within the Fluxus movement which he joins in 1962 and notably through Fluxus concerts. And Ben has remained an influential figure of contemporary art performance to this day.
Benoit proposes to rediscover through examples of historical performances (Street Actions, Fluxus concerts), the erasure of the boundaries between art and life initiated by Ben in the 1960’s. Thus, proposing to the participating students to produce their own performances, either in the spirit of those presented in the talk or in a clear break with them. There will be performances engaging the body that would find an echo in Robert Filliou’s expression, often quoted by Ben that “Art is what makes life more interesting than art”.
Conducted in English. Free admission. Registration needed.
28 April (Sat) 2pm-5pm
No.10, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, Ma Tau Kok
Benoit is inviting students to participate in a workshop where he will present some historic performances. Students will be provided with an opportunity to contribute to a collaborative artwork, which will be completed by the end of the workshop.
Registration: Please send an email to education@frenchmay.com with your name, university & department, contact number.
Conducted in English. Admission: Free admission. Registration needed.
28 April (Sat) 10am – 11am
28 April (Sat) 11:30am – 12:30nn
No.10, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, Ma Tau Kok
Ben’s handwriting plays an important role in his performance. Ben’s grandson, Benoit Barbagli, will apply this signature art element to the children workshops. Playing between words and pronunciations of different languages, Benoit Barbagli will guide children in a way how Ben think and create.
Target: Children aged from 4-12.
Conducted in English (with simultaneous Cantonese interpretation). Free admission. Registration needed.
For more information about the exhibition, you are welcome to visit: https://frenchmay.com/en/events/school-of-nice-from-pop-art-to-happenings/