Henry Flynt
Transformations is a named work associated with Henry Flynt, an American musician, philosopher, conceptual artist, composer, violinist, illustrator, and sound artist born on January 1, 1940.
Flynt was born in Greensboro and received his early education at Grimsley High School. His practice has encompassed music, philosophy, conceptual art, illustration, and sound art, reflecting the range of occupations attached to his name. As a violinist and composer, his musical work forms one strand of a wider artistic and intellectual enterprise.
Flynt is associated with the Fluxus movement, a connection that situates his practice within a broader artistic context. His work as a conceptual artist and sound artist developed alongside this association, placing him in conversation with others who similarly moved across disciplinary lines.
The Library of Congress catalogs his output under the authorized label "Flynt, Henry," a designation that reflects institutional recognition of his work. Transformations remains among the concrete, named works through which his output can be identified and located.
Quotes by Henry Flynt
Since 'concepts' are closely bound up with language, concept art is a kind of art of which the material is language.
When somebody says that all statements are false, the obvious problem is that as an assertion it’s self-defeating.
I was a student at Harvard, and that’s where I learned about so-called avant-garde music. Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionism and painting were well known at this time.
When I came to New York, I began to meet the people who became the most famous artists of our time. I was insecure about my own level of ability, I didn’t know whether I could compete with these people and, at the same time. I was wondering what is this anyway?
Basically, I viewed any work of art as an imposition of another person’s taste, and saw the individual making this imposition as a kind of dictator.
The purpose of concept art as a genre is to unbrainwash our mathematical and logical faculties.
I became very angry about the fact that I'd been talked into going to these Cage concerts when I was in college, that I'd sat and tried to make myself like that stuff and think in those terms. I felt I'd been brainwashed, that it was a kind of damage to my sensibilities. I'm still mad about this.