Symposium: My Body Is the Event Vienna Actionism and International Performance mumok Museum moderner Kunst The expansion of painting, abreaction, body analysis, self-mutilation, and Stiftung Ludwig Wien shamanism. International experts discuss the relationships between Vienna Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien Actionism and international performance art. April 24, 3.30–7 pm In My Body Is the Event. Vienna Actionism and International Performance, an April 25, 11 am–6 pm Location: mumok Hofstallungen exhibition running to August 23, 2015, mumok is presenting its own large collection Admission free of Vienna Actionism within the context of international developments in the 1960s and 1970s. Actions by Günter Brus, Otto Muehl, Hermann Nitsch, and Rudolf Schwarzkogler are compared and contrasted with works by artists including Marina Abramović, Chris Burden, VALIE EXPORT, Terry Fox, Tomislav Gotovac, Ion Grigorescu, Natalia LL, Paul McCarthy, Ana Mendieta, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Gina Pane, Neša Paripović, Ewa Partum, Carolee Schneemann, Wolf Vostell, and Hannah Wilke. Divided into several thematic sections, this exhibition addresses questions that were already at issue in the action art of the 1960s and 1970s. The presentation clearly shows that the Vienna artists were not only right up with the times but in many cases true pioneers. Rudolf Schwarzkogler On Friday, April 24, 2015, from 3.30 pm, and on Saturday, April 25, 2015, from 11 3. Aktion, 1965 am, renowned experts on Vienna Actionism, performance, and dance will be Black-and-white photograph Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig discussing the questions raised by this exhibition. These experts include the artists Wien, on loan from the Austrian Ludwig Hermann Nitsch and Günter Brus, the writer Ferdinand Schmatz, and well-known Foundation since 1984 theater critic and scholar Hans-Thies Lehmann. © Österreichische Ludwig-Stiftung Photo: mumok The symposium will begin with a lecture by Eva Badura-Triska, curator of the Vienna Press accreditation until April 20 by e- exhibition. Drawing on a legendary and controversial text by Ferdinand Schmatz, she mail to: [email protected] will address the concepts of reality that Vienna Actionism and the Vienna Group Press contact worked with. This will be followed by a lecture by Hubert Klocker, specialist on Actionism, director of the Friedrichshof Collection in Zurndorf/Vienna, and curator of Karin Bellmann a currently running exhibition on Hermann Nitsch in Vienna’s Theater Museum, T +43 1 52500-1400 [email protected] which takes a look at Nitsch’s relationship to theater. Katja Kulidzhanova T +43 1 52500-1450 [email protected] The high point of the first day will be the address by the renowned German theater scholar and expert on post-dramatic theater, Hans-Thies Lehmann. He will talk about Fax +43 1 52500-1300 the concepts of catharsis, abreaction, and anagnorisis (recognition), relating these to [email protected] www.mumok.at both ancient theater and performance in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 1 Press information, April 2, 2015 The second day will focus on prevalent themes and content in performance practice since the late 1960s. Rosemarie Brucher (senior scientist for theater studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz) will talk about acts of self-mutilation with reference to sovereignty between self-empowerment and de-subjectivation. Adam Czirak (academic staff at the Institute of Theater Studies at the Free University Berlin) will focus especially on eastern Europe and on positions in the 1960s and 1970s that formulated a deconstructive critique of the prevalent ideals of maleness. Barbara Gronau (professor for the theory and history of theater at the Berlin University of the Arts) will look at actions by Joseph Beuys, Hermann Nitsch, and Ana Mendieta, and their relationship to ritual practices. Sandra Umathum (professor of theater studies and dramaturgy at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art) will consider the act of shooting as a form of political protest in performance practice. The symposium will close with Eike Wittrock (curator and scholar of dance), who will investigate neo- shamanistic elements in contemporary dance and references to precursors from the 1970s. All the speakers and also the artists Günter Brus and Hermann Nitsch and author Ferdinand Schmatz will take part in discussions, which will be moderated by Brigitte Marschall (professor of theater studies at the University of Vienna) and Chris Standfest (dramaturge and curator, ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival). Concept: Eva Badura-Triska (curator, mumok) and Chris Standfest With: Eva Badura-Triska, mumok; Günter Brus, artist; Rosemarie Brucher, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz; Adam Czirak, Free University Berlin; Barbara Gronau, Berlin University of the Arts; Hubert Klocker, Friedrichshof Collection; Hans- Thies Lehmann, Prof. (retired) Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main; Brigitte Marschall, Institute for Theater, Film, and Media Studies at the University of Vienna; Hermann Nitsch, artist; Ferdinand Schmatz, writer, University of Applied Arts Vienna; Chris Standfest, ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival; Sandra Umathum, Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art, Berlin; Eike Wittrock, Free University Berlin In cooperation with ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival 2 Press information, April 2, 2015 Program Friday, April 24, 2015 3.30 pm Welcome: Karola Kraus (director mumok) Introduction: Eva Badura-Triska (curator mumok), Chris Standfest (dramaturge, ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival) 4 pm Eva Badura-Triska (curator mumok): Vienna Actionism and Reality revisited Followed by discussion with Eva Badura-Triska and Ferdinand Schmatz 5 pm Hubert Klocker (director Friedrichshof Collection Zurndorf/Vienna): Hermann Nitsch and Theater 6 pm Hans-Thies Lehmann (theater studies scholar): Catharsis – Abreaction – Anagnorisis: The Tradition of Ancient Tragic Theater in Vienna Actionism and Related Artistic Production Followed by discussion with Hubert Klocker, Hans-Thies Lehmann, and Hermann Nitsch. Moderation: Chris Standfest Saturday, April 25, 2015 11 am Rosemarie Brucher (senior scientist for theater studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz): Artistic Self-Mutilation: Sovereignty in Pain 12 noon Adam Czirak (academic staff at the Institute of Theater Studies at the Free University Berlin): Phantasma Heroism. The Deconstruction of Maleness in European Action Art of the 1960s and 1970s Followed by discussion with Rosemarie Brucher, Günter Brus, and Adam Czirak. Moderation: Brigitte Marschall 3 pm Barbara Gronau (professor for the theory and history of theater at the Berlin University of the Arts): Strategies to Reactivate the Senses: Ritual Practices between Transgression and Therapy 3 Press information, April 2, 2015 4 pm Sandra Umathum (professor of theater studies and dramaturgy at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art Berlin): Art and Shooting 5 pm Eike Wittrock (curator and dance scholar): My Body Is an Event. Neo-shamanism in Contemporary Dance Followed by discussion with Barbara Gronau, Sandra Umathum, and Eike Wittrock. Moderation: Chris Standfest On Saturday, April 25, from 1 to 9 pm, it will be possible to visit the former studio of Otto Muehl (Perinetkeller), where many of Vienna Actionism’s events took place and where presently the intervention Entsumpfung by Nicole Prutsch can be seen. Perinetgasse 1, 1200 Wien 4 Press information, April 2, 2015 .