Happenings
Happenings are a form of performance art that emerged in the late 1950s and gained prominence in the 1960s, characterized by their improvisational nature and lack of traditional theatrical structure. Originating from influences such as existential philosophy, Surrealism, and the Theater of the Absurd, Happenings often involve a combination of movement, sound, and visual art, allowing for spontaneous expression rather than scripted performances. These events typically break down the boundaries between audience and performer, encouraging active participation and engagement.
While varied in style, Happenings often incorporate provocative elements, including nudity and unconventional representations of religious or political symbols, reflecting and challenging the social norms of the time. Due to their ephemeral nature, each Happenings event is unique, resulting in limited documentation of their specific content. By the 1970s, the concept of Happenings evolved into what is now known as performance art, which encompasses a broader range of artistic expressions, from personal narratives to multimedia presentations. Both Happenings and performance art continue to provoke discussion and push artistic boundaries.
Subject Terms
Happenings
A type of theatrical/artistic event. Happenings were free-flowing performances, generally involving the audience in a barrage of sensory impressions.
Origins and History
Happenings grew out of several earlier movements, including existential philosophy, Surrealist painting, and Theater of the Absurd. The most direct precursor to the happenings of the 1960’s was artist Allan Kaprow’s experimental 1959 Eighteen Happenings in Six Parts, which combined movement, sight, and sound.
Happenings in the 1960’s were highly varied, but they generally shared certain features. Though theatrical in nature, they seldom took place in theaters and rarely relied on scripts or trained actors. Rather, they began with a concept and unfolded in an improvised fashion, with emphasis on spontaneous expression. Happenings could contain music, movement, creation of visual art, or display and manipulation of symbols. They tended not to draw sharp distinctions between audience and performers, and unlike plays, which rely on language, happenings often drew their power from visual spectacle, nonlinguistic sounds, and sense impressions. Because each performance of a given work was unique, few records exist documenting the content of particular happenings.
Impact
Like much art of the 1960’s, happenings were controversial: They often contained nudity and sometimes included irreverent treatment of religious or political symbols. They were products of and contributed to changing social norms.
Subsequent Events
By the 1970’s, happenings had evolved in several directions and were renamed “performance art.” Performance art ranges from confessional monologues to musical performances and multimedia extravaganzas. Like its predecessor, performance art is controversial.
Additional Information
Allan Kaprow’s Assemblage, Environments, and Happenings (1965) describes individual happenings and discusses the movement’s history.