A Halo around the ICC

James Lee Byars

1976

Performance
Materials:

Collection: Collectie ICC Antwerpen.

Action by James Lee byars in front of the I.C.C. on the Meir, Antwerps' busiest shopping street. The proportional analogy between the width of the facade of the I.C.C. and the width of the street, inspired James Lee Byars for this action. Under the watchfull eye of Byars, I.C.C. director Flor Bex starts with the painting of a semicircle on the street in front of the building. The original plan was to give a performance at the exact centre of the halo, but Bex was caught red handed and arrested by a patrol of the Antwerp police. Byars, who had gone "missing" when the boys in blue arrived, eventually gave his performance, under the form of a reception in an unfinished halo.

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Note that I.C.C. director Flor Bex found on the windshield of his car, the morning he and Byars' wife BB were released by the Antwerp police.

James Lee Byars during the reception.

The reception in front of the I.C.C..

James Lee Byars during the reception.

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A Halo around the ICC

26 September 1976.
Action by James Lee byars in front of the I.C.C. on the Meir, Antwerps' busiest shopping street. The proportional analogy between the width o

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About the work of James L...

James Lee Byars 1932-1997 Born in Detroit, USA. The work of the American artist James Lee Byars can impossibly be categorised into a specif

The city of Antwerp

Starting at the end of the 1960's and continuing throughout the 1970's, the city of Antwerp was the stage for numerous important "actions" b

Fields of artistic produc...

The ephemeral, the circle and perfection are three perpetual reccuring 'elements' in the versatile oeuvre of James Lee Byars. These 'aspects'

The Circle / The Sphere

From early on in his artistic career Byars used geometric figures, especially circles and spheres because of their simplicity and their intri

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James Lee Byars