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Emmett Williams is best known as a member of Fluxus, an international art movement that was founded in 1961. According to the movement's organizer George Maciunas, Fluxus was anti-elitist and "anti-art"; the wanted to "purge the world of bourgeoisie sickness." While the Fluxus artists did not share a common style, they favored performance art, and their work was frequently humorous. Though American, Williams was the European coordinator of Fluxus, until 1966 when he returned to the US.
Most of the prints in the Williams' portfolio Ten Autobiographical Sketches are stenciled with his profile, but this one is not. With its day glo colors, it nevertheless, reflects the youth-oriented spirit of the 1960s and 1970s, reminding the viewer of such pop songs as Martha and the Vandella's 1964 hit "Dancing in the Streets." You can see the print in Boom: American Printmaking 1960-2000, which will open at the Mulvane on April 1, 2016.