RITE OF PASSAGE THE EARLY YEARS OF VIENNA ACTIONISM 19601966

With radical actions, and emphasis on physical body-centred performance, G. Brus, H. Nitsch, O. Muehl and R. Schwarzkogler played a crucial part in this paradigm shift of the 1960s. From 1960, these artists undertook a process in which the painted image was stretc hed to its »breaking point« in the truest sense of the expression. Representation in the artworks of Vienna Actionists, especially in their actions, was replaced by a vehement devotion to sensual, and directly perceptible values: blood for Nitsch, junk and rubbi sh for Mue...[Read more]