Jon Hendricks (editor)
Manipulations
New York City, USA: A Judson Publication, 1967
7.5 x 10.5”
Edition of 500
The Judson Memorial Church, opposite Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, New York City, began what has been called "a radical arts ministry" in the 1950s. The church made space available to artists for exhibitions, rehearsals and performances, free from any form of censorship. In 1957 the church gallery exhibited work by Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine and Robert Rauschenberg, all unknown at the time. Shortly afterwards Tom Wesselmann, Daniel Spoerri, and Yoko Ono presented projects there, also. Some of the most important figures in contemporary dance (Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, etc.) were part of the Judson Dance Theater, which began in 1962.
Jon Hendricks relocated from Vermont in 1965 to work with the church, primarily as a means to obtain Conscientious Objector status. In 1967, wanting to channel his opposition to the Vietnam War into critical art activism, he organized an event called The Twelve Evenings of Manipulations. Over a period of three weeks various artists would each be given a day to do what whatever they wanted, on the theme of destruction. Running from the 5th of October to the 22nd, the participants included: his brother Geoffrey Hendricks (best known for his involvement in Fluxus, his ritualistic performances and his incredible sky paintings); Geoff’s then-wife Bici Hendricks (an artist affiliated with Fluxus who now goes under the name Nye Ffarrabas); Puerto Rican artist Raphael Montañez Ortiz (who hosted the similarly themed Destruction in Art Symposium at Judson Church the following year), composers Malcolm Goldstein and Philip Corner, Kate Millett (later famous for her 1970 book Sexual Politics), performance artist Carolee Schneemann, activist and mail artist Jean Toche (who co-founded the Guerrilla Art Action Group [or GAAG] with Hendricks), regular collaborators Nam June Paik and Charlotte Mooreman, Allan Kaprow, Al Hansen and many others.
The Judson Gallery released this printed envelope containing loose-sheet documentation works and multiples, as the first and only issue of the Judson Church Art Magazine. The title was shortened from The Twelve Evenings of... to simply Manipulations and the cover was designed by Oritz, whose contribution was an Explode this War in Vietnam bag, which resembled an airline airsickness or ‘barf' bag, covered in media images of the military action in Vietnam. Other works included the bag and toothpick flag by Bici Hendricks, titled Deteriorations; a bag of ashes from Lil Picard’s burning piece; a sky postcard from Geoffrey Henricks; the Judson publications manifesto and notes by Jon Hendricks; a schedule of the 12 Evenings and a photo credits page.
It was released in an edition of 500 copies, produced on the church’s mimeograph. Hendricks insisted it be made available free of charge and when it was reprinted as Aspen 6a [see below] the following year, it was also sent to subscribers for free. With a slight alteration to the cover graphic and considerably fewer items, the Aspen version remains one of the most difficult issues to obtain, with copies in good condition typically selling for upwards of a thousand dollars.
"When I came back to the U.S. in 1964, the war in Vietnam was getting worse, and I was drafted. As a Quaker, I applied for conscientious-objector status, which was granted in 1964 or ‘65. With this status, I needed to find civilian employment, and I was very fortunate to get a job at the Judson Memorial Church in New York City. It was an incredible moment in postmodern dance, and Judson was really the center. Yvonne Rainer and others were performing; it was so exciting to come to a place like that.
I had many different responsibilities at Judson: I worked in the office doing mailings, in the theater, taking tickets at the front door, but also making sets and being house manager. For a period, I ran the student house, which became a residence for artists. After a year or so, the church let me reopen the Judson Gallery. We did a lot of shows there, including an installation environment of Yoko Ono’s and a series called Manipulations that went on for three or four weeks. Each artist had one day and could do anything within the space—the theme was oriented around destruction. I was very interested in installations and environments, which I thought hadn’t been explored enough. Then my own personal work moved more directly and closely into political art activities, and I welcomed many politically oriented artists, like Carolee Schneemann, who did a great installation performance [Ordeals, 1967], Kate Millet, Ralph Ortiz, and many others.”
- Jon Hendricks
