In 1962, George Maciunas and Nam June Paik organized Fluxus concerts across Europe. These concerts or ‘events’ were written instructional scores performed by Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, Yoko Ono, and others associated with Fluxus. The ease with which the instructions could be carried out made events ideally suited to the democratizing, anti-war ethos of the period. Upon their arrival back in New York City, Higgins established the Something Else Press. This influential artist-run publishing company became an early platform for the performance genre. One such book was Great Bear Pamphlet Series, which contained myriad event scores and other texts by Knowles. One such pamphlet, By Alison, released in 1965, included the wellknown Proposition #2 (October, 1962), which instructs simply: ‘make a salad.’ Knowles first made a salad in the name of art at London’s ICA Gallery in 1962. In this event, she prepares a massive salad by chopping the ingredients to the beat of live music, mixing flamboyantly by tossing it in the air, then serving the salad to the audience. Make A Salad has since been performed globally, including at the Tate Modern in 2008 and on the High Line in Chelsea, New York, in 2012.
