Herbert Kuhner Violence Under the Guise of Art or Third Reich Recycling Herbert Kuhner, the writer, is in a sense a historian. His life story runs parallel to history and illustrates that history is too serious matter to be left exclusively to bona fide historians. “In 1935, the year of his birth, the Nuremberg Laws were imposed in Germany. In 1938, when he was three years old, “The doorbell rang and I ran to the door and opened it. My mother swept me away as two men in street clothes entered. One of them, I remember clearly, wore a brown suit and limped. The other was thin and balding and wore a grey suit. They searched the apartment. The brown-suited man pushed my grandmother, who was eighty-three away from the sideboard in order to ransack it. And indeed it contained her shopping money.” (from Felled by Friendly Fire, a Memoir) 1 - Peter Malina, historian “In my view there is a Biedermeier-like silence concerning this topic. It is good that you have broken through it.”2 - Kuno Knöbl Delving Experiences I had in young years in Third-Reich Austria and returning later, has enabled me to attain a personal insight into post-war and present-day events in the land of my birth. Much has been written about the days when the Third Reich officially ceased to be, however certain facets of the aftermath and aftereffects have in my view not been brought to the fore. I could not help but delve. I wanted to get to the core and I have been gathering material over the years. There are similarities in the German and Austrian approach to National Socialism, but there are also considerable differences. Herein I present aspects of the shadow and echo of bygone days that have hitherto been omitted. The Nub The pernicious spirit of the Third Reich has been channeled into the arts, flowing with great ease, with no end in sight. Its advocates operate under the sacred carapace of art, while journalists bow low in abject approval and politicians dance to their tunes. There are no inhibitions in presenting the aims. The doctrine of cruelty is clearly delineated in words and practiced in deeds, leaving little to the imagination. This aspect has established itself as an integral part of Austrian culture. 1 Peter Malina, Mit der Ziehharmonika, No.1, May, 1995 2 Kuno Knöbl. March 3, 2004, Düsenberg; En Route Herbert Kuhner, Film by Fritz Kleibel, 2014. 1 There is usually a price to pay for such revelations, but since the pen is my business, I could not resist making use of it. There have been repercussions. Prologue: The Cult of Cruelty “Blasphemy, obscenity, charlatanism, sadistic excesses, orgies, the aesthetics of the cesspool are our moral means.3 That includes rape and murder.4 Murder is an integral part of sex. 5 It will soon become an ethical necessity to rob banks and to shoot a random cripple down.” 6 - Otto Mühl, Actionist Otto Mühl Exhibit in the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, March 3 – May 31, 2000: Original MAK title: “Life as a Work of Art” “I knew a university professor named Stephan Koren. He was cripple and wanted to convince me that he was a man like me.…This scum of the nation fills every healthy Austrian with such dread that the pupils of his eyes would burst at the sight.”7 - Peter Weibel, Actionist, Culture Commissar “A bird is tied to a pedestal with a thin cord. I kneel in front of the bird on the pedestal and then I pour scalding wax over it. When I knock the pot of wax over with my head the bird’s head is inundated and my right hand is doused.” 8 - Valie Export, Actionist & designer of the anti-fascistic monument in Allentsteig, Lower Austria “One of the women, who is now 29 years old, describes how Mühl forced her to engage in sexual actions with him in front of the leadership of the commune at the age of five. Both women state that at the time of Mühl’s trial, they were forced to remain silent about these occurrences by members of the Commune.” 9 - Der Spiegel, March 1, 2004 “But if you observe him now, you see the members of the group who remained with him. I would like to be a part of it; they are having fun…something’s really happening there…. I saw that the women were happy ....I am the patron of an organization against sexual abuse (Power4me).10 - Dagmar Koller, musical comedy star, concerning Otto Mühl 3 Transparent Spezial, ORF (Austrian Radio), May 8, 1996. 4 Josef Dvorak: “Die Faschisten von heute: Antwort an Hermann Nitsch,“ Neues Forum, No. 246, June 1974, Vienna, p. 44; Otto Mühl, ZOCK, Aspekte einer Totalrevolution 66/71 Munich, 1971; Supervisuel 6, „Otto Mühl will Menschen schlachten,“ Zurich, 1970. 5 Fritz Rumler:” Ein Problem der Umweltverschmutzung?,“ Der Spiegel, 1968 (exact date illegible), Frankfurt, p. 254 6 Josef Dvorak: “Amoklauf der Aktionisten,“ Neues Forum, Sept./Oct. 1974, Nos. 249/250, p. 2. 7 Peter Weibel, Valie Export: Wien, Bildkompendium Wiener Aktionismus und Film, Kohlkunst Verlag, Frankfurt, 1970; Speech at the University of Vienna, June, 7, 1968. 8 performance-art-research.de/AndereTexte.htm; Beschreibung von VALIE EXPORT in: http://www.urban- infill.com/asemie2.htm, 20.02.2004. 9 Jürgen Kremb: „Opfer der Kommine“ Der Spiegel, No. 10, March 1, 2004, p. 156. 10 Barbara Stöckl, ORF (Austrian TV), April 11, 2013, 11 p.m. 2 “Mühl’s specialty is minors and sex, and my specialty is the agonizing torture of animals....I could well envision that murder could be a component of a work of art.11 Killing was and is beyond all moral judgments. 12 - Hermann Nitsch, Actionist “Nitsch is a sadist with a mania for approbation, an autistic alcoholic who’s completely narcissistic and a mother’s boy who didn’t get enough attention. Rainer is genuinely violent and a sadist. Nitsch torments the participants in his actions; they’re constantly freezing. He arranges that intentionally. I’d like to know how many became ill, how many caught pneumonia, how many died.”13 - Otto Mühl, Actionist “Nitsch, who never slaughtered an animal in his life, is constantly referred to as a slaughterer.” - Profil magazine14 “Nitsch is the greatest animal lover I know. I was present in the Nitsch household at his home when his swatted a mosquito and caused a major marital crisis. Nitsch gave vent to his anger over the senseless death of this living thing.” 15 - Danielle Spera, Museum Curator, Vienna “The intoxication created by the blood and the ripping apart of raw flesh should be satisfying and enjoyable since it relieves man of his suppressed desires.... If possible I would prefer to work with human beings, with dead human beings, with corpses to be specific.”16I could well envision that murder could be a component of a work of art; the artist’s accountability would have another status…Thus, art can consist of a crime.”17 Killing was and is beyond all moral judgments.”18 - Hermann Nitsch Headlines, April 2015: „NÖN“, „Heute“ “The emphasis oif my Actions is not on animals.” „ “Nitsch is considering blood orgies by using human cadavers.” www.heute.at “I could very well imagine using human cadavers in my actions,” the artist is quoted by NÖN.“ “The Artist Drank Blood, I have no Money“, Hermann Nitsch: 11 Falter 24-30, 7, No. 30, 1998, p. 18. 12 Paula Devarney: “Nitsch - Art of Killing,” Caellian, 9. Oct. 1970; Hermann Nitsch: Das rote Tuch - Das Orgien Mysterien Theater - Im Spiegel der Presse 1960-1988, Freibord, Vienna, 1988, p. 106. 13 Andreas Schlothauer, Die Diktatur der freien Sexualität p. 122. 14 Gerhard Jaschke, Ed.: Reizwort Nitsch, Sonderzahl, Vienna, 1995, S. 20, “Einen Spaß,” from Profil, Sept. 1988. 15 Danielle Spera: Hermann Nitsch. Leben und Arbeit, Brandstätter, Vienna 2002. p. 9. 16 Mojca Kumerdej: “Hermann Nitsch o smrti in Zivljenu,” Delo, Ljubljana, Oct. 3, 1992; “Im Blutrausch,” News,, No. 30/95, p. 190; “Sechs Tage blutiges Welttheater,” News, No. 40/96, p. 190, “The Devil In a Grey Beard,” interview with Adrian Searle, The Guardian, Manchester, Nov. 15, 1997, p. 17; News, No. 27, July, 2001, p. 7. 17 Falter 24-30, 7, No. 30, 1998, p. 18. 18 Paula Devarney: “Nitsch - Art of Killing,” Caellian, 9. Oct. 1970; Hermann Nitsch: Das rote Tuch - Das Orgien Mysterien Theater - Im Spiegel der Presse 1960-1988, Freibord, Vienna, 1988, p. 106. 3 “Dear Herr Chancellor, if your daughter were to be placed on a stage with shaven head and have her genitalia penetrated under the direction of Herr Nitsch, I would like to know whether you would still speak about ’the freedom of art.’”19 - Lore Jarosch, author Hermann Nitsch stated in a TV-interview that we all had skeletons in our closets but that (Otto) Mühl had to atone for us.” - Günter Brus “We guarantee Nitsch the protection of the state for practicing his profession freely.”20 - Dr. Peter Wittmann, Austrian State Secretary for Culture “You have taken this all out of context.“ (to H.K.).21 - Ferdinand Lacina, former Minister of Finance and President of the Austrian League for Human Rights “If we don’t prosper, the world will be blown up.”22Take your cock out! Exhibitionists to the fore! ... We will beat citizens until they become human beings.”23 - Peter Weibel, Actionist and Culture Commissar “We thought about killing people as a work of art, or that sort of thing – if that is radical.