| Dick Higgins is one of the great intellectual avant-garde artists of the 20th century--really HUGE--and someone that most people have never heard of. I first met Dick Higgins at a Fluxus event in Columbus, Ohio, in 1994, and had various interactions with him after that until he died, suddenly, in 1998. Please use the links below to learn more about this amazing creative force--one of the founders of the Fluxus art movement/group. One of Dick Higgins performances that I have always liked is called "Danger Music no. 17." The script for this musical performance is as follows: "Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream!" You can hear an audio recording of one of his performances of this piece by clicking here. Dick Higgins did many different things under the "Danger Music" banner (and "Danger Music" is only a small drop in the bucket of his amazing oeuvre). I am very pleased to connect my fireworks sculpture (which looks and sounds dangerous) to Dick Higgins and this work.
Additional references to learn about Dick Higgins:
A wonderful collection of descriptions of Dick Higgins and his impact on art and culture here.
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Dr. Ronald Bukoff was a professor at the arts-oriented Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he died at the age of 53 on July 8, 2008. He was a popular music professor, head of Centenary's nationally recognized Hurley Music Library, and a professional bassoon player. Ron was born in Hawaii, grew up in southern California with his two brothers, and was an outstanding high school swimmer. Ron received a PhD in musicology from Cornell University in 1988 and an MLS in Library Science and Information from Indiana University several years after that. Most Bukoff males are afflicted with "quirky personalities" and a dry sense of humor and Ron had all of that. You can see this in the titles of his published work--just two examples:
Pickpockets, Prostitutes, and Pimps: The Bawdy Baroque of William Hogarth and John Gay--Narrative Art and Ballad Opera
"The Ice Cream 'Man' Cometh: The Librarian as Purveyor of 'Frozen' Popular
Culture"
Ron was also one of the first people to study censorship at college libraries with a national survey published in 1995. You can read more about Ronald Bukoff in Centenary College's announcements here and here.
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