Fence Event (1997)

The Fence Event was really my first publicly exhibited piece. I was 16 years old when I sent the score to the Fluxlist Mailing List (as Fluxis, my former email address).

Fence Event Score

  1. Booth set up with “Free Tickets” sign.

  2. Far away, an area is fenced off.

  3. Charge 1 ticket to enter fence.

The piece inspired 18 variations, some of which were performed by Allen Bukoff of Fluxus Midwest at ARTSEEN; another performance took place at CalArts at the Klondike International Fluxus Group Show in 1999. In 2006 I finally performed the piece myself with the assistance of J. Astra Brinkmann for a coordinated week-long series of performance activities dubbed “A Week of Unlikely Events.”

None of the performances have matched my original intent, though, which was that the internet would coordinate a “Free Tickets” sign somewhere in Chicago, New York, or San Francisco at the same time a fence was erected in a forest in Eastern Europe, with the performance lasting exactly 90 minutes.

Fence Event Performance: Windsor, Ontario, 1997

Bukoff’s performance notes from the Windsor, Ontario performance:

Photo from ARTSEEN, 1997, Allen Bukoff.

The sign at ARTSEEN, 1997, Allen Bukoff.

“After handing out FREE TICKETS! for about an hour, we set up the “fenced-in area”—approximately 30 feet away—and followed the first FENCE EVENT script (submitted by Fluxis@aol.com) . Six fence posts (individual wooden stands 3.5-feet tall) and yellow nylon rope were used to establish an approximately 10-foot by 10-foot square fenced-in area. A sign stating “TICKET REQUIRED FOR ADMISSION” was placed on one of the posts at the entry. The display or collection of tickets was not always rigorously enforced, however. More than several participants who had entered the fenced-in area later felt compelled to seek us out and “turn in” their ticket. Most participants simply walked around inside the perimeter—usually circling the large square pillar within the space (looking for clues?). Several asked if the small grey covering taped on the floor (and viewable here in the photos) was part of the installation (it wasn’t).”

— Allen Bukoff

Eryk Salvaggio