13 Ways to Use Emmett Williams' Skull, performed during Internationaal Programma/Nieuwste Muziek-Nieuwste Theater/Nieuwste Literatuur, De Kleine Komedie, Amsterdam, December 18, 1963
Robert Filliou
French, 1926–1987
1963
A gelatin silver print by Robert Filliou that documents a 1963 Fluxus performance staging a deadpan, theatrical gesture with a skullcap, aiming to make a small, absurd action itself into art.
You first notice the dry, black‑and‑white stillness: a suited man seated cross‑legged on a low stool, wearing a tiny skullcap, his clasped hands and impassive gaze turning a minor, comic prop into a quietly dramatic tableau.
The image captures Fluxus’s move to elevate everyday objects and brief performances into conceptual art, and shows how photographic documentation made ephemeral live events legible and collectible for museums and history.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image and sheet: 9 5/16 x 6 7/8" (23.7 x 17.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Gift
Accession
2146.2008
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
