happening
(noun)
A spontaneous or improvised event, especially one that involves audience participation.
Examples of happening in the following topics:
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Performance Art
- Performance art in the 1960s and 70s included "actions," body art, happenings, endurance-focused, and ritual-focused performances.
- Happenings, a term coined by Allan Kaprow in 1958, require active participation from the spectators, and are unique, improvisational events that can take place in any venue.
- The viewers' reactions decide the art piece, making each happening a unique experience that cannot be replicated.
- Through happenings, the separations between life, art, artist, and audience all become blurred.
- Reading the News, a happening in which the artist got into the Río de La Plata wrapped in newspapers.
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Chance, Improvisation, and Spontaneity
- In addition, Fluxus was known for its "happenings," which were multi-disciplinary performance events or situations that could take place anywhere.
- Audience participation was essential in a happening, and therefore relied on a great deal of surprise and improvisation.
- Key elements of happenings were often planned, but artists left room for improvisation, which eliminated the boundary between the artwork and the viewer, thus making the audience an important part of the art.
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American Painting: The Ashcan School
- Whether it was a portrayal of contemporary culture, or a scenic view of downtown New York City, Realist works depicted a contemporary view of what was happening or what was "real. "
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Egyptian Pharaohs as God-Kings
- The transition to a unified state actually happened more gradually than ancient Egyptian writers would have us believe, and there is no contemporary record of Menes.
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Time
- Performance can happen anywhere, in any venue or setting and for any length of time.
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The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
- While today the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum are often described as cities frozen in time, the inhabitants of these cities and the region around Vesuvius had many warnings prior to the eruption that something was about to happen.
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Making the Art
- They take place most often in galleries, but can happen in any space the artist chooses.
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Prayers
- Some people pray throughout all that is happening during the day and seek guidance as the day progresses.
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Painting in the Vijayanagar Empire
- The seasons, eco-happenings, animals, and plant world are also effectively depicted in these paintings as co-themes or contexts.
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Islamic Ceramics
- More refined production happened much later, presumably by Muslim potters working in areas reconquered by Christian kingdoms.