Fluxus Pioneer Alison Knowles Dies at 92, Known for Salad-Making Performance and Early Computer Poem

Alison Knowles, a foundational figure in the Fluxus movement, passed away on October 29, 2025, as confirmed by her gallery James Fuentes. Born in Scarsdale, New York, she earned a Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute in 1956. Her artistic journey included early involvement with John Cage's Mycological Society in New York, and she participated in the inaugural Fluxus performance in Düsseldorf during 1962 alongside Cage, George Maciunas, Nam June Paik, and Dick Higgins, whom she later married. Knowles's practice centered on performance, everyday actions, and audience engagement, frequently incorporating food elements. Among her most recognized works is the event score "Make a Salad," first staged at London's ICA in 1962. She authored over a hundred event scores that merged performance with daily life, such as "Nivea Cream Piece" (1962), "Newspaper Music" (1962), and "The Identical Lunch" (1967). Her explorations extended to sound, text, and sculpture, exemplified by "Bean Rolls" (1963), a tin can containing texts and dried beans that produce sound. Collaborating with James Tenney, she created "The House of Dust" in 1967, considered one of the earliest computer-generated poems. Later career solo exhibitions were held at the Carnegie Museum of Art in 2016 and the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive from 2022 to 2023. "The House of Dust" will be featured in New York this autumn as part of the New Museum's inaugural exhibition in its expanded building.