9. Alison Knowles: The Identical Lunch (late 1960s–early ’70s)

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Alison Knowles:

Alison Knowles:

Alison Knowles:

Alison Knowles:

Alison Knowles:

The

The

The

The

The

Identical

Identical

Identical

Identical

Identical

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

(late 1960s–early ’70s)

(late 1960s–early ’70s)

(late 1960s–early ’70s)

(late 1960s–early ’70s)

(late 1960s–early ’70s)

Fluxus affiliate Alison Knowles devised The Identical Lunch as a combination of instructions and documentations of a simple lunch that she habitually ordered from a local diner near her studio in Manhattan. Identical Lunch is iterative and communal, existing across a number of formats and media—from the list of ingredients spoken and written to the food items ordered and the many social interactions instigated throughout. Though many experimental notations were crafted prior to performance, Identical Lunch emerged retrospectively, designating as “art” an ordinary event that Knowles and her friends performed repeatedly from the late 1960s onward.

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White page in magazine with “Alison Knowles” at left in top margin followed by “Journal of the Identical Lunch” and one justified paragraph of black print in English that runs the length of the page. “182” at bottom left. — “Journal of the Identical Lunch” (1968–69)

Color video of performance in outdoor tent with performers in white shirts and black pants, each sat at U-shaped table and each with a blender, facing a female conductor (Knowles) at center and an audience behind. Woman first faces away from performers and addresses audience, then conducts performers who turn blenders filled with liquid on or off, pausing halfway through to inspect several blender lids. Knowles returns to her central spot and continues conducting. Finally, Knowles and performers pour the liquid into cups and serve to the audience, some of whom give their opinion on the taste. Video flips between one hand-held camera that follows Knowles and captures close-ups of blenders and hands, and one stable camera behind the audience and facing the table of performers that captures entire scene. — “Alison Knowles: Identical Lunch Symphony,” Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago (5 May 2012)

Color video of woman sat in indoor office speaking to camera interspersed with images of cafe interiors and exteriors and materials associated with *Identical Lunch*. — Alison Knowles: Identical Lunch (2012)

Highlights

Black and white print book cover with portrait-oriented photograph of a man facing away from camera toward an indoor deli counter. Handwritten text bubble above his head reads “A tunafish sand on wheat toast, lettuce and butter, no mayo. A cuppa zoup.” “Journal of the Identical Lunch by Alison Knowles” on bottom quarter in white print on black background. — Journal of the Identical Lunch (San Francisco: Nova Broadcast Press, 1971)

Cover of book covered with two identical landscape-oriented black and white photographs of a diner shot through the front window. Top photo overexposed. “The Identical Lunch by Philip Corner” in blue on top photograph. — The Identical Lunch (San Francisco: Nova Broadcast Press, 1973)

Recto, postcard covered with two black and white photographs, the left a full-body photograph of young girl outdoors wearing overalls and a knife holster, and the right of a young girl in swimsuit and hat crawling on the beach. “Brahms Was a Two-Penny Harlot” across top of card in all-caps. — Postcard Theatre (addressed to Jean Brown) (ca. 1970s)

Unidentified Woman Performs The Identical Lunch (1969, realized 1973)

Left page in small black notebook with handwritten recipes in blue for vegetables, buttermilk, and lemon rice. Right page with handwritten recipe in black for oat cookies. — Recipe for Buttermilk (ca. 1960s)

Scores (6 items)

Horizontal rectangular brown paper with title “#2--Proposition (October, 1962)” followed by “Make a salad.”, and time, date and location of performance. All text black print aligned left. — Score for #2—Proposition (October, 1962) (Make a Salad), in By Alison Knowles, A Great Bear Pamphlet (New York: Something Else Press, 1965), 2 (1965)

Square-shaped white page with black print in English. “Invitation to Participate in New Year Eve’s Flux-Feast (Food Drink Event)” followed by event information on top quarter of page. Center blank. Bottom half contains list of “Fluxus Drinks & Foods”, each with ingredients and culinary artist. — “Invitation to Participate in New Years Eve’s Flux-Feast” (1969)

Two-page spread in notebook. Left page contains landscape-oriented black and white photograph of four people eating at a long table. Right page contains photocopy of lined notebook paper filled with handwritten and typewritten black text. Top right margin contains date and “by Tom Wasmuth.” Diagram of tessellated squares on bottom quarter. — Diagram, 24 June 1969, in Alison Knowles’s Journal of the Identical Lunch (San Francisco: Nova Broadcast Press, 1971), 35 (1971)

Black and white print book cover with portrait-oriented photograph of a man facing away from camera toward an indoor deli counter. Handwritten text bubble above his head reads “A tunafish sand on wheat toast, lettuce and butter, no mayo. A cuppa zoup.” “Journal of the Identical Lunch by Alison Knowles” on bottom quarter in white print on black background. — Journal of the Identical Lunch (San Francisco: Nova Broadcast Press, 1971)

Cover of stapled white paper booklet with photocopied black and white collage. Page contains black print and photographs of spotlights, a woman blindfolded, a woman eating and handwritten text “gentle surprises” at top left and “Alison Knowles Bill Fontana” at bottom left. — Gentle Surprises booklet, including score for Blind Lunch (1973)

Cover of book covered with two identical landscape-oriented black and white photographs of a diner shot through the front window. Top photo overexposed. “The Identical Lunch by Philip Corner” in blue on top photograph. — The Identical Lunch (San Francisco: Nova Broadcast Press, 1973)

Sketches and materials (1 item)

Yellow legal pad page with typewritten text in English. Top fifth contains title and section titled procedure. Bottom four fifths contain two single spaced paragraphs that run the length of the page. Four sets of three numbers on left margin spaced at irregular intervals. — Written documentation by Alison Knowles of her performance of Benjamin Patterson’s Final Exam (1 June 1965)

Programs and flyers (4 items)

Horizontal rectangular white paper black print paragraph in English at center. “Womens work,” names of participating artists, and “thank you...” handwritten. Otherwise, print. — Announcement for Womens Work, “a magazine of performance scores by contemporary women artists” (ca. 1975)

White page with black print in English. Top half contains information for “Meet The Woman Composer” series followed by program for 5 November. Bottom half contains three paragraphs: performance information, artist statement, and biography. — Program for Alison Knowles’s The Bean Garden in “Meet the Woman Composer” at the New School for Social Research, New York, NY (1976)

Vertical rectangular orange flyer with “Meet the Woman Composer” in large text on top third followed by paragraph of performance information and performance schedule on bottom two thirds. Alison Knowles and Jill Kroesen on 5 November. — Brochure for the course “Meet the Woman Composer” at the New School for Social Research, New York, NY (1976)

Vertical rectangular cream flyer with red print. Top half contains a monochromatic red photograph of a partially peeled apple with overpainted abstract lines. Bottom half contains “The Samaya Foundation presents Food Mandala” in large letters followed by performance information. — Poster for Alison Knowles and Philip Corner’s Food Mandala at the Samaya Foundation, New York, NY (1980)

Photographs (2 items)

Square black and white photograph of five people indoors at top left filling plates from a large wooden bucket of salad at center. — Alison Knowles performing #2—Proposition (October, 1962) (Make a Salad), at Festival of Misfits, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (1962)

Landscape-oriented black and white photograph of a woman at right shot from chest up eating from a long serving spoon. Stocked pantry shelves in background at left. — Alison Knowles tasting soup (ca. 1970s)

Press clippings (1 item)

White page with black and white copy of news article containing two columns of text that run the length of the page. “The Simplest Materials Close At Hand and Dog Training” at top across both columns. Rightmost third of page blank. — Review of Knowles’s The Bean Garden at the New School, Soho Weekly News (25 November 1976)

Correspondence (9 items)

Recto, Horizontal rectangular paper fragment with torn edges and covered with “Wheat Hearts” in large black and red print. — Note from Alison Knowles to Emmett Williams on verso of “Wheat Hearts” cardboard label (ca. 1960s)

Recto: White page with single-spaced typewritten paragraphs of correspondence in English running the length of the page. Graphic at top left with letters B, L, K, one black and white photo and and illustration of scissors. Similar graphic at center repeated three times. “Dear Oscar” below graphic and above body text, aligned left. Green pen correction in center of right margin. Verso: White page with single-spaced typewritten paragraphs of correspondence in English running covering the top third of the page. Signed “Always, Alison” in green pen below text, aligned right. — Letter from Alison Knowles to [Oscar] Emmett Williams (ca. 1963)

Recto: White lined notebook page with single-spaced typewritten paragraphs of correspondence in English running the length of the page. “Dear Oscar” at left of top margin. One handwritten note in left margin. Verso: White lined notebook page with single spaced typewritten paragraphs of correspondence in English covering the top third of the page. Paragraph of handwritten text in red at center followed by cutout of Camel cigarette camel pasted upside down and covered with red ink “Made in U.S.A.” stamps. — Letter from Alison Knowles to [Oscar] Emmett Williams (ca. 1963)

Recto of white lined notebook page with black handwritten correspondence in English. Thin lines of text cover entire page; no margins. Use of all-capitalized words throughout. Small diagram of funnel, rectangle and circle at bottom left. “Dear Ben” at top left. — Letter from George Maciunas to Benjamin Patterson (January 1963)

Recto: White page with with single spaced typewritten paragraphs of correspondence in English running the length of the page. “Dear Oscar” at top left. Top right contains detailed location information: “a monday night in april, balmy days and chilly nights now, great weather. i imagine us now, all the good people, strolling to chinatown, discussing, of course, the mighty YAM day:”. Verso: White page with with single spaced typewritten paragraphs of correspondence in English covering the top half of the page. Handwritten signature “love, Alison” and short post-script. Bottom half blank. — Letter from Alison Knowles to [Oscar] Emmett Williams (April ca. 1963)

Verso, white postcard with “from Ample Food For Stupid Thought by Robert Filliou” in small black print at top left, black ink and color sticker stamps at top right, George Maciunas’ address at center right, and blue handwritten addressed to Maciunas at left. — Postcard from Alison Knowles to George Maciunas (25 August 1966)

White page with three single-spaced paragraphs of black typewritten correspondence in English covering two-thirds of the page. Page contains Something Else Press header at top left, crossed out and replaced with “Alison Knowles” handwritten in pencil. “August 5” at right, below top margin. “Dear Jean” at left above body text. Signed “Alison” at bottom center. — Letter from Alison Knowles to Jean Brown (5 August ca. 1970s)

White page with one paragraph of handwritten correspondence in English covering entire page. Alison Knowles’s name and address at top left in blue ink stamp. “Dear Jean” at top left. Alison Knowles’s and Annea Lockwood’s signatures at bottom right. — Letter from Alison Knowles to Jean Brown (1973)

Black page with one paragraph of black typewritten correspondence in English at center. Alison Knowles’s name and address at top right in blue ink stamp. “Dear George” at left above text. Signed “love Alison” at center below text. — Letter from Alison Knowles to George Maciunas about macrobiotic diets (ca. 1977)

Archival materials (7 items)

Horizontal rectangular white paper with black typewritten text in English. “Rum Coconut” at top center followed by one-paragraph-long recipe. Bottom half blank. — Recipe for Rum Coconut (ca. 1960s)

Horizontal rectangular white paper with black typewritten text in English. “Milk au Diable” at top center followed by a two-line-long recipe. Bottom two thirds blank. — Recipe for Milk au Diable (ca. 1960s)

Horizontal rectangular white paper with black typewritten text in English. “Lime Pickle (Native process)” at top center followed by one-paragraph-long recipe. Bottom third blank. — Recipe for Lime Pickle (ca. 1960s)

Left page in small black notebook with handwritten recipes in blue for vegetables, buttermilk, and lemon rice. Right page with handwritten recipe in black for oat cookies. — Recipe for Buttermilk (ca. 1960s)

Black and white copy of book page with photograph of Knowles eating from a long serving spoon in top left, paragraph of text at top right, minimal line illustration of foot on bottom right, and “Alison Knowles” at bottom right in large print. — Xerox of “Alison Knowles,” in Miriam Shapiro’s Art: A Woman’s Sensibility (Valencia, CA: CalArts, 1975), 36

Clear plastic pouch with paper fragment containing handwritten pencil text “how two beans are alike and how are they different. no two beans are altogether alike or altogether different.”, and two beans, one white, one black, in white semi-translucent pouch. — “how two beans are alike and how are they different. no two beans are altogether alike or altogether different” (ca. 1980)

White paper with black typewritten text in English. “The design of the Bean Sequence is as follows” at left above text. Diagram with two concentric circles and handwritten labels on bottom half of page. Stapled at top left. — Bean Sequences booklet (ca. 1981)

Artwork (7 items)

Bean Rolls from Fluxkit (1965)

George Maciunas Performs The Identical Lunch (1969, realized 1973)

Unidentified Woman Performs The Identical Lunch (1969, realized 1973)

Shigeko Kubota Performs The Identical Lunch (1969, realized 1973)

Anne Brazeau Performs The Identical Lunch (1969, realized 1973)

Recto, postcard covered with two black and white photographs, the left a full-body photograph of young girl outdoors wearing overalls and a knife holster, and the right of a young girl in swimsuit and hat crawling on the beach. “Brahms Was a Two-Penny Harlot” across top of card in all-caps. — Postcard Theatre (addressed to Jean Brown) (ca. 1970s)

Vertical rectangular white poster with black printed graphic. Top contains a handwritten text key identifying the source of each object. Rest contains collage of photographed objects, each with superimposed minimal line drawing. — “Collections from the Full Moon” poster (1974)