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the actionists
Gunter Brus
Born on 27 September 1938 in Ardning in Styria.
As a graduate of the Graz School of Applied Arts, Brus realised his first action in 1964 with “Ana”, in which the human body was used as artistic material. This marked the transition from the informal to the so-called “self-paintings”. These were followed in 1965 by the “Self-Mutilations”, in which Brus used his own body as artistic material. His sensational “Vienna Walk” took place on 5 July 1965. In 1966, he took part in the “Destruction in Art Symposium” in London. After Brus was sentenced to six months in prison for the “Art and Revolution” action in 1968, he fled to Berlin in 1969. His last and most radical action, “Zerreissprobe”, took place in Munich in 1970. He then returned to drawing and his lyrical work.
Brus dies in Graz in February 2024.
Günter Brus, Selbstbemalung 1,
(Hand painting – head painting – head repainting),
December 1964, b/w photography, 23 x 18 cm
Studio John Sailer, Opernring 21, 1010 Vienna
Photo: Ludwig Hoffenreich.
Otto Muehl
Otto Muehl was born on 16 June 1925 in Grodnau in Burgenland. In the summer of 1944, Muehl was sent to the front. The traumatic experiences of the war left a lasting impression on him. In 1952, he graduated as a teacher of German and history and began studying art education at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
In 1960, his first solo exhibition took place at the Junge Generation Gallery. From 1964, Muehl concentrated on the realisation of his actionist work, with which he wanted to de-taboo socially repressed aspects of human nature through the use of human bodies and the staging of sexuality, death and birth. Muehl was one of the participants in “Art and Revolution” on 7 June 1968 at the University of Vienna.
In 1972, he founded the action-analytical organisation, the AAO Kommune am Friedrichshof. The commune at Friedrichshof disbanded in 1988. Muehl is charged with the sexual abuse and rape of children and adolescents.
In 1991, he is sentenced to seven years in prison “for sexual offences, indecency with minors up to and including rape, offences against the Narcotics Act and witness tampering”. While in prison, he created an extensive body of paintings and literary works.
Muehl dies in Portugal in 2013.
Otto Muehl, Materialaktion Nr. 19, Bodybuilding
May 21, 1965, Colour photography, 115 x 80 cm
Atelier Muehl, Perinetgasse 1, 1200 Vienna
Photo: Ludwig Hoffenreich
Hermann Nitsch
Hermann Nitsch was born in Vienna on 29 August 1938. From 1957 to 1957, he studied at the Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna. At the age of almost twenty, he developed the comprehensive concept for his Gesamtkunstwerk of the Orgien Mysterien Theatre, which was to define his life’s work. He wanted to address all aspects of life, including the painful, painful and violent ones, in order to bring them into an artistic form.
In 1960, his first painting actions took place in front of an audience at the Technical Museum in Vienna. In 1962, real animal blood was used as artistic material for the first time. From 1960 to 1979, Nitsch exclusively used the colour red for his paintings. At the end of the 1960s, he developed the colour theory of the Orgien Mysterien Theater.
In 1971, Prinzendorf Castle became the central venue for the Orgies Mysteries Theatre.
From 1975, the first 24-hour play takes place in Prinzendorf. In 1984 a three-day play and in 1998 the six-day play. Nitsch realises a total of 160 actions and 96 painting actions. In 2005, Nitsch realised his 122nd action at the Burgtheater in Vienna.
In his late work, Nitsch concentrates more on painting again, in addition to further developing his music and action theatre. In 2021, he staged a large-scale painting action for the Bayreuth Festival’s “Walküre”.
On April 18, 2022, Nitsch dies in Mistelbach after a serious illness.
Hermann Nitsch, 4. Aktion
November 21, 1963, Colour photography, 130 x 130 cm
Atelier Nitsch, Brünner Straße 132, 1210 Vienna
Photo: Ludwig Hoffenreich
Rudolf Schwarzkogler
Rudolf Schwarzkogler was born in Vienna on 13 November 1940. From 1957, he studied at the Graphic Arts Teaching and Research Institute in Vienna, which he left in 1961 without graduating. In 1963 he did his military service. In 1964, he took part as an actor in Otto Muehl’s “Luftballonkonzert” (Balloon Concert) in his basement studio on Perinetgasse in Vienna. In 1965, he took part in Hermann Nitsch’s 7th and 8th actions.
On 6 February 1965, he carried out his first own action, “Hochzeit” (Wedding).
Between 1968 and 1969, the artist became increasingly involved with the spiritual teachings and practices of the East. In this context, he undertook excessive fasting cures without medical supervision, which put him under great physical and psychological strain. Schwarzkogler became increasingly preoccupied with the relativity of the perceptible.
On June 20, 1969, Schwarzkogler falls out of the window of his flat and succumbs to his injuries immediately afterwards.
Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Untitled, Gekreuzigter
c. 1962, ink, oil crayon on wood, 23.3 x 17.4 x 6 cm