Hermann Nitsch

Hermann Nitsch , born the August 29th 1938 with Vienna, is a Austrian contemporary artist .

He is Co-promoter of the movement Wiener Aktionismus (Actionnisme Viennese) and one of the representatives most important of a current which it continues to defend today. (Other federator protagonists of this group of artists Viennese are Günter Brus, Otto Mühl and Rudolf Schwarzkogler).

Before turning to the Painting, Nitsch carried out its studies in Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt (Institute of Graphic arts Applied) of Vienna.
In 1961 it works out its first Schüttbilder and, in collaboration with Otto Mühl and Adolf Frohner, it organizes actions inspired of the happenings and performances of Fluxus.

It is at that time that it develops the concept of Orgien-Mysterien Theater (Theater of the Orgies and Mystères).
With the integration of all the forms of art: the Painting, the Architecture, the Music… Orgien-Mysterien Theater, similar to the Wagnerian idea of the Gesamstkunstwerk (total work of art) , is supposed to put gradually under tension all directions of the participants until, arrived at the culminating point, each one conscience of its existence takes differently.

Since 1971, Nitsch regularly organizes its Orgien-Mysterien-Spiele , on the aréal of Schloss Prinzendorf (castle located in Low-Austria), which it had acquired in 1971. Its 100e performance, at the summer 1998, conceived like the result of its work, the " 6-Tage-Spiel" lasted six days whole.

The vision of the world of Hermann Nitsch is strongly marked by mythical writers ; such as Sade, Nietzsche, Freud, Artaud, Battle inter alia.

For its Orgien-Mysterien Theater Hermann Nitsch is also active like writer and Compositeur. Its actions are méticuleusement described and its partitions contains beside the instructions of action and the texts of the graphically noted pieces of music.

The integration of blood, the animal body and the human body, ritual combination of and liturgical elements in its bloody actions of ceremonial nature an opinion but also theologists incite not only the guards of the animals to give and of the representatives of the moral public. Thus, the work of Nitsch is extremely discussed.

In the final analysis Nitsch seems the representative of an antiquated and provocative esthetics. For the ones it is a true artist of a great originality, for others it is primitive presumptuous working in the bad most outrageous taste.

Hermann Nitsch however has a very visible influence on the Austrian artistic scene and Viennese in particular.

External bonds

Site of Hermann Nitsch

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