Art commune
An art commune is a communal living situation or commune where collective art is produced as a function of the group's activities. Contemporary art communes such as Kunsthaus Tacheles and Flux Factory are scattered around the world, yet frequently aloof to widespread attention due to displeasure or discomfort with mainstream society. In the 1960s and 1970s art communes such as Friedrichshof also known as Aktionsanalytische Organisation flourished. Creative art was enthusiastically produced within such groups, which became gathering points for the counterculture movement. Although from a sociological viewpoint both the art producing and non-art producing communes of the 1970s failed to sustain themselves, owing largely to the fact that they tended to have open memberships, which eventually attracted people with social problems. These problems then spread and become too difficult for these autonomous entities to handle. Some groups however, such as the Twin Oaks Community have continued to flourish to this day.
Today's art communes are a mix of artists, drifters, collectivists, activists, dadaists, and hangers on. Such groups are more politically and ideologically diverse than their mid-20th century counterparts. This in turn however, has led to many art communes selling out and becoming more mainstream, commercial entities.