George Maciunas (1931-1978) was a founding member and the central coordinator of Fluxus, a loose community of international artists, poets, architects, composers, and designers, who linked art to life. Maciunas came up with the word Fluxus to suggest “flow” and “effluent” and to describe a wide range of activities, which included scores or instructions; multiples; and concerts, performances, and “Happenings” that were often themselves in a state of flux. All with the idea of emphasizing artistic process over the finished product. 

Considered the founder of video art, Nam June Paik (1932–2006) is renowned for coining the term “electronic superhighway.” In the 1970s, Paik envisioned a near future where emerging media technologies would link communities via global networks, effectively predicting the advent of the internet. A member of the 1960s Fluxus movement, Paik is credited with elevating the common television into a tactile and multi-sensory medium and art object.

In 1962 Maciunas wrote 12 Compositions for Nam June Paik: 1. Let piano movers carry piano into the stage. 2. Tune the piano. 3. Paint the piano with orange paint patterns over the piano. 4. Using a straight stick the length of the keyboard sound all keys together. 5. Place a dog or cat (or both) inside the piano and play Chopin. 6. Stretch the 3 highest strings with a tuning key until they break. 7. Place one piano on top of another (one can be smaller). 8. Place piano upside down and put a vase with flowers over the sound box. 9. Draw a picture of the piano so that the audience can see the picture. 10. Write a sign “piano composition no.10” and show the audience the sign. 11. Wash the piano and polish it well. 12. Let piano movers carry piano out of the stage.