Wolf Vostell’s 'dé-coll/age' Magazine: The Editorial Design of Action Art

Abstract

This article delves into the debates that shaped the history of Fluxus and its critical reception through a detailed study of the magazine dé-coll/age, which Dick Higgins described as “the best forum for avant-garde ideas in Europe—by default, in the world.” Published between 1962 and 1969 by the German artist Wolf Vostell, dé-coll/age was not merely an interesting artist’s magazine. This study demonstrates that it also functioned as a highly effective tool for Vostell to shape both the course of events and the critical reception of Fluxus and action art, by means of a distinctive editorial design that was not only remarkably persuasive but also had a decisive influence on seminal publications such as Interfunktionen and the milestone exhibition Happening & Fluxus, curated by Harald Szeemann in 1970.