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Artists›Benjamin Patterson

Benjamin Patterson

Benjamin Patterson

Artist

WA-00028850

InstallationPerformance Art

Representation

None documented

0

Institutional Exhibitions

112

Works in Collection

226

Assets Indexed

0

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ817643 ULAN500202321

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/4520
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Benjamin Patterson was an American artist and musician who worked across sound, performance, and visual media, employing chance operations and indeterminacy as compositional principles. Active in postwar experimental art circles, he developed hybrid practices that rejected traditional boundaries between disciplines. His work engaged with the conceptual frameworks emerging from composers like John Cage and the interdisciplinary ethos of experimental performance in the 1950s and 1960s.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Performance Art

Medium

Installation

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (112)

Gallery 360, Happenings for Sightseeing Bus Trip vol. 2 for Ben Patterson's Birthday Tour in Mt. Fuji, 2004 and Patterson: 3 Operas, 2004

Museum of Modern Art

The Eureka Machine

1988 · Two stapled photocopies with stamped ink, containing wire, walnut, and light bulb attached with two twist ties

overall: 11/16 x 8 9/16 x 10 7/8" (1.8 x 21.7 x 27.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Trout Bag

1981 · Canvas satchel containing fabric patch, packet of metal sinkers, fishing license and ten altered fishing lures in plastic boxes

component (.a (satchel, irreg.)): 9 1/16 x 7 7/8 x 6 1/2" (23 x 20 x 16.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Benjamin Patterson's Lick Piece (1962), performed by Olga Adorno and Robert Watts during Flux-Feast of Erotic Food and Flux Cabaret, Grommet Art Theater, 537 Broadway, New York City, February 25, 1978

1978 · Gelatin silver print

7 15/16 x 9 15/16" (20.1 x 25.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 2 from Fluxkit

1965 · Plastic box with offset label, containing soap and hand towel with stamped ink additions

overall (closed): 4 3/4 × 3 15/16 × 11/16" (12 × 10 × 1.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 2 from Fluxkit

1965 · Plastic box with offset label, containing bar of soap and cloth towel with stamp additions

overall (box): 3 15/16 x 4 3/4 x 1" (10 x 12 x 2.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 2 from Fluxkit

Instruction No. 2 from Fluxkit

1965 · Plastic box with offset label, containing cloth towel with stamped ink

overall (closed): 3 15/16 × 4 3/4 × 1" (10 × 12 × 2.5 cm); component (towel, folded, irreg.): 1 x 4 13/16 x 3 11/16" (2.5 x 12.2 x 9.3 cm); component (towel, unfolded): 16 9/16 x 13 1/8" (42 x 33.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 2

Instruction No. 2

1965 · Plastic box with offset label, containing soap and hand towel with stamped ink additions

overall (box): 4 11/16 x 3 15/16 x 1/2" (11.9 x 10 x 1.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Fluxus II Instruction No. 2 from Fluxkit

1965 · Multiple of plastic box with offset label; containing paper towel and soap from a multiple containing 31 objects in various media

Box: 4 3/4 x 3 11/16 x 1/2" (12.0 x 9.3 x 1.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Seminar I, during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Fluxhall, 359 Canal Street, New York, May 16, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

sheet: 5 3/16 × 5 3/8" (13.2 × 13.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Questionnaire from Flux Year Box 2

1964 · Offset card

sheet: 2 3/16 x 3 1/8" (5.5 x 8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 1 from Fluxkit

1964 · Felt-tip pen and stamped ink on paper

sheet: 14 7/16 x 11 1/4" (36.7 x 28.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 1

Instruction No. 1

1964 · Felt-tip pen and stamped ink on paper

sheet: 30 11/16 x 20" (78 x 50.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Lick Piece (1962), performed by Lette Eisenhauer during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

Lick Piece (1962), performed by Lette Eisenhauer during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

image: 9 1/2 x 6 5/16" (24.2 x 16.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Lick Piece (1962), performed during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

Lick Piece (1962), performed during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

image: 7 5/8 x 9 1/2" (19.3 x 24.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Lick Piece (1962), performed during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

Lick Piece (1962), performed during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

image: 9 3/16 x 6 5/16" (23.3 x 16 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 1

Instruction No. 1

1964 · Felt-tip pen and stamped ink on paper

sheet: 30 11/16 x 20 1/16" (78 x 51 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Instruction No. 1

Instruction No. 1

1964 · Felt-tip pen and stamped ink on paper

sheet: 30 11/16 x 20 5/16" (78 x 51.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Paper Piece (1960), performed during Fluxus Festival/Theatre Compositions/Street Compositions/Exhibits/Electronic Music, Hypokriterion Theater, Amsterdam, June 23, 1963

1963 · Gelatin silver print

Museum of Modern Art

Paper Piece (1960), performed during Fluxus Festival/Theatre Compositions/Street Compositions/Exhibits/Electronic Music, Hypokriterion Theater, Amsterdam, June 23, 1963

1963 · Gelatin silver print

image and sheet: 8 1/8 x 11 15/16" (20.7 x 30.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Audience members participating in Paper Piece (1960), performed during Fluxus Festival/Theatre Compositions/Street Compositions/Exhibits/Electronic Music, Hypokriterion Theater, Amsterdam, June 23, 1963

Audience members participating in Paper Piece (1960), performed during Fluxus Festival/Theatre Compositions/Street Compositions/Exhibits/Electronic Music, Hypokriterion Theater, Amsterdam, June 23, 1963

1963 · Gelatin silver print

image: 7 1/4 x 9 15/16" (18.4 x 25.3 cm); sheet: 7 1/2 x 9 15/16" (19 x 25.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Benjamin Patterson's Paper Piece (1960), performed during Fluxus Festival/Theatre Compositions/Street Compositions/Exhibits/Electronic Music, Hypokriterion Theater, Amsterdam, June 23, 1963

Benjamin Patterson's Paper Piece (1960), performed during Fluxus Festival/Theatre Compositions/Street Compositions/Exhibits/Electronic Music, Hypokriterion Theater, Amsterdam, June 23, 1963

1963 · Gelatin silver print

image and sheet: 7 7/16 x 9 15/16" (18.9 x 25.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

A Game: Three Capacities and One Inhibition

A Game: Three Capacities and One Inhibition

1963 · Envelope with typewriting and stamped ink additions, containing four cards with ink and stamped ink additions, one with collage

card (each): 3 x 5" (7.6 x 12.7 cm); overall (envelope): 3 5/8 x 6 7/16" (9.2 x 16.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Tour and Examination

Tour and Examination

1963 · Typewriting on paper

sheet: 11 x 8 9/16" (28 x 21.8 cm); mount: 12 11/16 x 9 11/16" (32.2 x 24.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 112 artworks →

Artwork sources (1)

112 published of 223 catalogued · 60 with image

MoMA
112 publishedof 223 catalogued60 img

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

When Elephants Fight, It Is The Frogs That Suffer—A Sonic Graffiti (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

When Elephants Fight, It Is The Frogs That Suffer—A Sonic Graffiti (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

2

Movements1

Performance Art

Collections1

Museum of Modern Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet