Milan Knížák (; born 19 April 1940) is a Czech

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist, sculptor,

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

ian, installation artist, political dissident,

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

, art theorist and pedagogue of art associated with

Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental performance art, art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finishe ...

Biography

Early life

Milan Knizak is the son of the painter, musician and teacher of mathematics Karel Knížák from Doubravka u Plzně, nowadays part of the city of

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, and Julia Knížáková. The parents taught in Jarov (1932–1934) and later in Blovice close to Plzeň. Milan Knížák was born in Plzeň on 19 April 1940. In 1945, after the

expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a broader series of Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), evacuations and deportations of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II. ...

the family moved to Mariánské Lázně, a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

in close to the German border. There, his father played violin in a spa orchestra and Milan attended primary school, where he was interested in music and literature. He also took piano, trumpet and guitar lessons.

Studies and beginnings (1955–1965)

Knížák started painting at fourteen in Mariánské Lázně where his first exhibition was held in 1958. He attended secondary school (Gymnasium in Planá) and graduated in 1957. On several occasions young Knížák visited the studio of the painter Vladimír Modrý (1907–1976). Later Knížák wrote in his diary about the movie '' Fantastic Voyage'' and how its fantastic scenes reminded him of the paintings of Modrý. During the period of mid-1957 to 1958 he attended the Pedagogical University in Prague, majoring in

art education Visual arts education is the area of learning that is based upon the kind of art that one can see, visual arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practi ...

and

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

. In 1958 he dropped out and became an assistant worker at Prague's exhibition grounds. He later passed the exams at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, but soon abandoned his studies there. He then studied

mathematical analysis Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series ( ...

at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University for one year.

Actual and public art (1960–1975)

At the beginning of the 1960s, he created his first activity –

happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow in 1959 to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happening" i ...

s, ceremonies, installations and various environments on the busy or calm streets or in courtyards of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Together with his friends he founded a group of

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

called ''Actual Art''. Sometime around 1966 the word "art" was dropped from the name and group was called poor ''AKTUAL''. Already known and also documented are their actions in the part of old

called ''New World'', such as ''Demonstration of One'' (1964). Some of AKTUAL's songs were remastered by unofficial musical group The Plastic People of the Universe, which members became, somewhat against their will,

dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

during political process in the autumn of the year 1976. Knížák was a member of

, an international (anti-)artistic community of music, actions, poetry, objects and events. Knížák was director of

East from the year 1965. He is known for organising and performing the first

s and

concerts in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

: e.g. ''A Walk around Novy Svět'' (The part of old Prague called ''New World'') and the ''Demonstration for Oneself'' (both 1964). Later he had contacts with the first contact mediated Czech philosopher Jindřich Chalupecký. Knížák was promoted to ''Director Fluxus East'' by director George Maciunas about 1965. In the countries of former

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

there were managed these activities: ''The Fluxus Festivals'' in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(1966),

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

(1969), and

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

(1977). Knížák was also visited by American beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg and conceptual art artist Joseph Kosuth. George Maciunas invited Knížák to the United States in 1965 and he participated in

events there. He realized his ''Lying''

Ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

and the ''Difficult Ceremony'' in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Maciunas prepared the publication of Knížák's ''Collected Works'' as a

Edition. In October 1966, Knížák organised the first

concert in

in Prague in which he appeared together with Ben Vautier, Jeff Berner, Alison Knowles, Serge Oldenbourg and

Dick Higgins Dick Higgins (15 March 1938 – 25 October 1998) was an American artist, composer, art theorist, poet, publisher, printmaker, and a co-founder of the Fluxus international artistic movement (and community). Inspired by John Cage, Higgins was ...

. Knížák returned to

in 1970. His works were exhibited in the galleries in the East bloc, f.e.

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

in Poland,

in Hungary, but also in capitalistic Austria. In 1979 he received a fellowship from the DAAD to

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

, where he meet artist Wolf Vostell and Czech poet in emigration Jiří Kolář. In

he worked as a designer on an

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

film and created the

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

cycle of

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

s for

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

Political activities

During the communist era Knížák was under police

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

and was called an Enemy of the State. He was arrested during an event with the music band The Plastic People of the Universe.

Awards and positions

In 1998 Knížák unsuccessfully ran for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

as an independent, supported by the ODS/. In 2010 he was awarded the Medal of Merit by the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Knížák was director of the Czech National Gallery in Prague between 1999 and 2011.

Pedagogy

Milan Knížák is a professor of

intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...

at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague since 1990. His pupils have included Jana Šindelová. * 1998: École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL),

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

– lectures, lecture on history of performance art * 1997: Centre Georges Pompidou, Domaine de Boisbuchet, France – extension and pedagogy * 1991, 1992: Vitra Museum, Weil am Rhein, BRD – lectures * 1991: Sommerakademie Berlin, BRD – pedagogy * 1990 -1997: Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, chancellor and professor of

* since 1989: professor of

at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague * 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996: Inter. Sommerakademie Salzburg, Rakousko – pedagogy and lectures * 1983: HfBK Hamburg, BRD – lectures on art * 1969: University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA + UCLA, Los Angeles, USA – lectures on performance art

Awards

* 1997 Medal of first instance of the Ministry of Education * 2010 He became the holder of the Medal of Merit

Selected Knížák Fluxus Event Specification

* 1965 ''Fashion'' specification: Cut a coat along its entire length. Wear each half separately. * 1965 ''Cat'' specification: Get a cat. * 1965–1970 ''Killing the Books'' specification: By shooting, by burning, by drowning, by cutting, by gluing, by painting white, or red, or black... * 1968 ''Lying Ceremony'' specification: Blindfolded people lie on the ground for a long time.

Notes

References

* Milan Knížák's books
Amazon.com: Milan Knizak: Books
* Milan Knížák on artlist
Milan Knížák – Artlist – databáze současného umění

External links

Archivio Conz

Milan Knizak opens solo exhibition at Manes Gallery – Czech Radio

Videoreports with Milan Knížák on Artycok.TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knizak, Milan 1940 births Living people Artists from Plzeň Czech poets Czech male poets Czech contemporary artists Writers from Plzeň Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Academy of Fine Arts in Prague alumni Installation artists