Conversation with Alison Knowles, New York, 2003

In this conversation, Alison Knowles reflects on her creative process, feminist perspective, and role in Fluxus. She shares an excerpt from her 2003 College Art Association award speech, tracing a shoe heel’s life from creation to decay, mirroring her use of found objects. She introduces recent tactile sound works made from natural materials like flax, soybeans, and lentils, embedded in handmade paper shaped by air and temperature, resulting in unpredictable, organic forms. “What I do with these instruments is, I make them interactive with whomever will come to the performance, and the scores are very simple.”

Knowles’s background diverges from that of many feminist artists, as she was fully supported in her artistic endeavors from a young age. After attending Pratt Institute, Knowles found painting unsatisfying and instead turned to performance and writing. She joined Fluxus in the early 1960s, where she became one of the few female artists in a male-dominated collective. Her “event scores”—simple performance instructions—were distinct from the more abstract works by her male peers. These scores often incorporated personal narratives, mundane objects, and sensory experiences. She reflects on her evolving role as a performer, expressing a desire to be more directly involved in performances rather than delegating them to others. Her involvement with Fluxus took her across Europe, where she felt a stronger connection to the avant-garde art community than in the U.S.

Knowles reflects on the 1970s feminist art scene at CalArts, initially disagreeing with its separatist approach. She recalls that Judy Chicago once criticized her for not being “angry enough.” At the time, she hadn’t yet internalized the significance of the feminist revolution. Conversations with Pauline Oliveros later shifted her view. She eventually began actively collaborating with women artists. Raising her twin daughters further deepened her connection to a growing intergenerational network of women in the arts.

Throughout, Knowles emphasizes her resistance to rigid artistic categories. She recounts her shift in the 1970s from minimalist event scores to more theatrical, layered performances using proverbs, found objects, and everyday gestures. She dislikes being labeled strictly as a “Fluxus artist” and encourages emerging artists to stay open rather than fixate on labels. “I’ll just be happy with anybody who comes to me to ask me about my work, because the frameworks that we work in actually are not as much formed by ourselves as we imagined. I think they come from the time that we live.” Knowles’s approach is tactile and collaborative, and her pieces are meant to be touched and experienced. If someone steals an object, she calmly remarks, “I can make another.” In closing, Knowles expresses contentment in simply “making a piece of art”—free from expectation, categorization, and commercial pressures.