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Robert Filliou (1926, Sauve, France – 1987, Les Eyzies, France) was a French artist whose diverse contributions spanned multiple disciplines, including film, performance art, sculpture, and action poetry. He is best known for his involvement with the Fluxus movement, which sought to break traditional boundaries between art and life. Filliou actively participated in the French Resistance during World War II and later joined the Communist Party. After the war, he moved to Los Angeles in 1946, where he worked at the Coca-Cola Company and earned a master's degree in economics from UCLA. In the early 1950s, Filliou worked as a United Nations adviser in South Korea, where he encountered Zen Buddhism, a philosophy that significantly influenced his artistic approach. He returned to France in 1959, becoming involved with avant-garde artists like Daniel Spoerri, Emmett Williams, and George Brecht. His work often focused on play, joy, and the notion of "permanent creation," blurring the lines between art and everyday life. One of Filliou’s most well-known ideas was Art's Birthday, which he proposed in 1963. He suggested that art was born 1,000,000 years ago on January 17 when someone dropped a dry sponge into a bucket of water, and the idea led to annual celebrations of art’s existence. In 1971, he also founded La République Géniale, a conceptual "Republic of Genius" where individuals could explore and cultivate their innate creativity, challenging conventional ideas of expertise and knowledge. Filliou viewed teaching and learning as performative acts, prioritizing the process of creation rather than the finished product. His unconventional approach to art and education left a lasting impact. In the mid-1980s, Filliou and his wife, Marianne Staffels, spent three years in a Buddhist retreat near Les Eyzies, France. Filliou passed away on December 2, 1987, in Les Eyzies, but his legacy continues to inspire those who challenge traditional ideas of art and creativity.