* 1926 in Sauve, France, † 1987 in Chanteloube, France
French Artist
Known for: Action Poems (combination of poetry and performance) and Fluxus events, inventor of the anniversaire de l'art, 1963
Art historical context: Fluxus movement
Exhibited works
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BF | A
| Action poem, written in Paris in 1964, and first performed in 1965 at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York as the second part of the action poem Yes. LE FILLIOU IDEAL It is an action poem, and I am going to perform it. Its score is: not deciding not choosing not wanting not owning aware of self wide awake SITTING QUIETLY, DOING NOTHING
At the premiere, the first part of the action poem was read by Alison Knowles while Filliou sat cross-legged at the back of the stage, motionless and silent. For the second part, Filliou said the words given here, and then returned to his previous spot on the stage. Philip Corner improvised an almost silent musical accompaniment. The performance was continued until even those people in the audience, who at first had not dared to leave, had gone. Depending on who recited the poem, the title was changed to: "Le (Name) Ideal" (see Robert Filliou: A Filliou Sampler. Something Else Press. New York 1967). | |
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Poème collectif, 1968. 24 pages, edition of 1000 copies. GF | B
| The book consists of a black envelope, a short introduction with instructions on how to make a poem, 16 blank pages and one, black loose page inserted with the text "Cache-mots" (i.e. "Hide words"). The Introduction text is as follows: "Cette poquette contient 16 pages blanches. Inscrivez sur la première page le nom de 5 à 7 objets – choses, émotions, sentiments, etc. – dont vous vous débarrasseriez volontiers, par ex. : une photo de mariage, une paire de chaussettes, une lettre reçue voici 10 ans, ou la veille, l'école, l'armée, les ruhmatismes. Puis, au fur et à mesure, faites remplir les autres pages blanches par 15 personnes de votre choix. Chaque nouveau participant ne pourra prendre connaissance du poème collectif qu'après y avoir contribué." (Robert Filliou: Poème collectif. La Louvière: Daily-Bul, 1968) The instructions for this collective poem are based on the score for a participatory event that Filliou performed together with Emmett Williams in 1963 in the Musée de la Ville d'Arras in Arras, France. Fifteen people were invited to write down, one after another, which five to seven things or feelings they would like to get rid of. In order to express themselves honestly, they were allowed to use a loose piece of paper to hide the words that the previous person had written on the page before them, similar to the surrealist game cadavre exquis. The title of the collective poem composed in this way would only appear on the last page: "Épave de l'Homme. Poème de sa nature morte". (Human Wreck. Poem of his mortal nature). The artist was trying to generate an internal void in the participants, by letting them fill the empty pages of the book with all the stuff that depresses them, and thus prevails upon them to be free. The book is meant as a kind of spiritual and therapeutic exercise book in the spirit of Zen Buddhism. | |
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Credits All reproductions © Estate of Robert Filliou | ||
