Henry Flynt

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Henry Flynt was born in 1940 in Greensboro, NC. He is a philosopher, musician, anti-art activist and exhibited artist.

Flynt’s work devolves from what he calls “cognitive nihilism,” first announced in the 1960 and 1961 drafts of Philosophy Proper. (The 1961 draft was published with other early work in his book Blueprint for a Higher Civilization, Milan, 1975.) He refined these dispensations in the “Is there language?” trap, published as “Primary Study” in 1964. In 1961, Flynt coined the term concept art. Concept art’s first appearance in a book was in An Anthology, release date 1963. In 1962, Flynt began to campaign for an anti-art position. He demonstrated against cultural institutions in New York in 1963 with Tony Conrad and Jack Smith, and against Stockhausen twice in 1964. He wanted art to be superseded by “veramusement” and “brend,” neologisms meaning approximately pure recreation.

From about 1980, Flynt has given a great deal of time to two endeavors which did not achieve the notoriety of the early actions—"meta-technology" and "personhood theory." In 1987, he revived concept art for tactical reasons; he spent seven years in the art world. After that, Flynt began to publish recorded but unreleased musical compositions; over ten CDs have appeared as of 2007. Flynt has written broadly on a wide variety of subjects, as is visible through his web site.

Because of his friendship and collaboration with George Maciunas, Flynt sometimes gets linked to Fluxus by unsympathetic reviewers. While Flynt himself describes Fluxus as his "publisher of last resort," Flynt did permit Fluxus to publish his work, and he took part in several Fluxus exhibitions, though he claims no affiliation or interest in the Fluxus sensibility.

[edit] Bibliography

Blueprint for a Higher Civilization, 1975
Being=Space X Action: Searches for Freedom of Mind Through Mathematics, Art, and Mysticism, edited by Charles Stein 1988, a special issue of Io (#41) on Henry Flynt and Christer Hennix

[edit] Discography

New American Ethnic Music, Volume 1: You are my Everlovin' + Celestial Power, Recorded Records
New American Ethnic Music, Volume 2: Spindizzy, Recorded Records
New American Ethnic Music, Volume 3: Hillbilly Tape Music, Recorded Records
New American Ethnic Music, Volume 4: Ascent to the Sun, Recorded Records
C Tune, Locust Music
Raga Electric, Locust Music
Backporch Hillbilly Blues, Volume 1, Locust Music
Backporch Hillbilly Blues, Volume 2, Locust Music
I Don't Wanna, Locust Music
Purified by the Fire, Locust Music
Henry Flynt & Nova' Billy, Locust Music
Graduation And Other New Country & Blues Music, Ampersand