In 1961, filmmaker Gene Bernofsky and artist

Clark Richert Clark Richert (May 3, 1941 – December 24, 2021) was an American contemporary artist largely known for his colorful geometric paintings, but whose practice included animation, video, intervention, happenings, and publishing. He also developed D ...

, art students from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, developed an art concept they called Drop Art or droppings. Informed by the "

happenings A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...

" of

Allan Kaprow Allan Kaprow (August 23, 1927 – April 5, 2006) was an American painter, assemblagist and a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art. He helped to develop the " Environment" and " Happening" in the late 1950s and 1960s, as well ...

and the impromptu performances a few years earlier of John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg and

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing mo ...

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educational ...

, Drop Art began when Richert and Bernofsky started painting rocks and dropping them from a loft roof onto the sidewalk of Lawrence Kansas's main drag — watching the reactions of passersby. Early Drop Art included such pieces as ''Egg Drop'' and ''Pendulum'' (pictured) . Drop Art eventually led to the creation of

Drop City Drop City was a counterculture artists' community that formed near the town of Trinidad in southern Colorado in 1960. Abandoned by 1979, Drop City became known as the first rural "hippie commune". Establishment In 1960, the four original foun ...

, an experimental artist's community founded in 1965 near Trinidad, Colorado. The intention was to create a live-in work of Drop Art. Image:is this a dropping?.jpg, ''Is this a Dropping?'', by Drop Artists, 1962, Mexico City Image:Pendulumx.jpg, ''Pendulum '', by Drop Artists, 1962, (recreation) Lawrence Kansas Image:"Pythagorean Tree".jpg, ''Pythagorean Tree'', by Drop Artists, 1967, acrylic on panel, 48" diam. Image:"The Ultimate painting".jpg, ''The Ultimate Painting'', by Drop Artists, 1966, acrylic on panel, 60"x60" Image:DropCity.jpg, Drop City, 1967 Image:Egg Drop.jpg, ''Egg Drop'', by Drop Artists, 1962, (recreation) Lawrence Kansas

References

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External links

Ruins of Drop City, Trinidad, Colorado
a print by Joel Sternfield
Clark Richert Website
Clark Richert Website {{Avant-garde Avant-garde art