Aug 03, 2023 - Sale 2643

Sale 2643 - Lot 368

Price Realized: $ 1,750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

GEORGE MACIUNAS (1931-1978)

U.S.A. SURPASSES ALL THE GENOCIDE RECORDS! 1966.


21 1/2x34 1/2 inches, 54x 1/287 1/2 cm.
Condition A: minor creases at edges. Circular blind stamp in lower right corner reading "Lennon Ono, certified 1970-1974, Original Gallery Ad," with ink notation Paper.

Lithuanian-born graphic designer George Maciunas was the founder of the Fluxus movement in 1961, a network of international inter-media artists who focused on the process of creating art, rather than the finished product. Influenced by avant-garde composer John Cage and Dada artists like Duchamp, Fluxus focused on "anti-art" and "anti-commercialism," with a spirit of humor and wit. Fluxus hosted public performances, festivals and street events in various cities, with contributing artists like Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Ray Johnson and George Brecht. This reinvented image of the American Flag is attributed to Maciunas in collaboration with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Maciunas did not sign works during his lifetime, in line with his manifesto on the dispensability of the artist's identity, but the poster is referenced in Fluxus publications. Another variant is printed only in red ink. Images of an Era 110, Graphic Design in America p. 58, MoMA 3001.2008.x1-x36.