Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by George Maciunas. It dates from 1978 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
The arrangement forms seven rows of six, presenting a repetitive visual field that balances individual gestures with collective uniformity.
Created in 1978, this offset lithograph by George Maciunas consists of a systematic grid of forty‑two small black‑and‑white photographs. Each image depicts an open mouth, often with teeth exposed, and is captioned with the label “FLUXPOST” followed by a sequential number. The arrangement forms seven rows of six, presenting a repetitive visual field that balances individual gestures with collective uniformity.
Subject & Meaning
The work foregrounds the human mouth as a site of expression, speech, and silence, sometimes obscured by a hand. By cataloguing each mouth with an impersonal identifier, Maciunas invites viewers to consider the tension between personal identity and the anonymous, mass‑produced aesthetic that characterized the Fluxus ethos.
Technique & Style
Printed on gummed, perforated paper, the lithograph retains a tactile quality that distinguishes it from conventional flat prints. The offset process reproduces the photographic negatives with crisp contrast, while the perforations introduce a subtle texture, reinforcing the work’s emphasis on materiality and the handmade within a reproducible format.
History & Provenance
George Maciunas, a central organizer of the Fluxus movement, produced the piece as part of his ongoing series of graphic multiples that disseminated the group’s ideas. The lithograph entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of post‑war experimental art.
Context
During the late 1970s, Fluxus artists explored the blurring of boundaries between art, everyday objects, and communication. Maciunas’s use of a serial grid and standardized labeling reflects the collective’s interest in democratizing artistic production and challenging conventional notions of authorship and originality.
Artist & collection
Artist
George Maciunas (English: ; Lithuanian: Jurgis Mačiūnas; November 8, 1931 – May 9, 1978) was a Lithuanian American artist, art historian, and art organizer who was the founding member and central coordinator of Fluxus,…
