How To Be Happy: The Four Great Lessons

Following his training as classical musician, in 1960 Patterson moved to Europe where he became involved with the Fluxus movement. He collaborated with Robert Filliou and assisted George Maciunas with the organization of the historic 1962 Fluxus Festival in Wiesbaden. In 1963 Patterson moved to NYC where he continued to participate in Fluxus events until the late 1960s. In the following decades he pursued a successful career in arts administration. In the late 1980s Patterson emerged from "retirement" and began exhibiting new work. This 1996 portfolio of five screen prints instructs the viewer in how to be happy, in "four great lessons": 1. Being in a bunch helps you feel loose and secure 2. Hold hands a lot and listen to the advice of your friends 3. Be kind to animals and be sensitive to your body's needs 4. Live every day as a performance, even if making a complete fool of yourself. There is a title page followed by one sheet for each "lesson", with complimentary images appropriated from comic strips, clip art, and other sources along with abstract colored shapes reminiscent of torn/collaged paper printed in a variety of florescent colors. Each sheet also bears the wording "ha, ha, ha".