Galerie Denis Cooper presents … Rudolf Schwarzkogler

 

‘Art as life ritual. The conventional artist looks for his own style; he wants to achieve something but does not ask what. He thus serves the ruling institutions by making his products attest to the concepts on which these institutions have built up their existence. And he is repaid for this, honoured and pensioned. However, art is above all justified through the enjoyment of art and not through the pressure of a style. Art as experience, training, and as the destruction of all established ideas about life…’ — Rudolf Schwarzkogler

‘The six portfolios of photographs that make up ‘Aktionen Wien’ represent almost the entire artistic output left by the Austrian artist Rudolf Schwarzkogler, who committed suicide in 1969 at the age of 29 following a gradual deterioration of his mental health. The photographs of these six actions were to become highly influential to later artists.

‘While closely associated with the group of Austrian artists who became known as the Vienna Aktionists, principally Hermann Nitsch, Günter Brus and Otto Mühl, Schwarzkogler’s work differed in one important aspect: the Vienna Aktionists’ performances were highly ritualistic public actions, designed to be confronting and cathartic experiences for both performers and audience. However, with the exception of ‘1. Aktion ‘Hochzeit’ (marriage) 6 Februar 1965’, Schwarzkogler’s actions were staged primarily for the camera. Schwarzkogler used his collaborator, Heinz Cibulka, more as a passive prop than as an active participant, wrapping him in bandages and subjecting him to implied mutilation by knives or syringes.

‘Some of Schwarzkogler’s contemporaries criticised his ‘staged’ actions as a return to pictorial illusionism, an artifice that live actions were supposed to have eliminated. Schwarzkogler did not limit himself to direct action or endurance in the manner of Marina Abramovic or Mike Parr but developed theatrical scenarios that, in their linear documentation, can be read as narratives. Hermann Nitsch, however, believed that Schwarzkogler’s work was a development that pushed the boundaries of Aktionism to create what he called ‘living pictures’. Whereas many performance works were hastily documented and by their nature were unrepeatable, Schwarzkogler planned his performances and acted them out before the camera: they were primarily staged and repeatable events as opposed to duration works that tested bodily limits. Many of Nitsch’s actions – for example, slicing open an animal carcass and letting its blood and entrails fall onto a naked human body – were intended to create an atmosphere of shock and chaos that was essentially nihilistic. Schwarzkogler, on the other hand, was inspired by his abiding interest in esoteric philosophies and developed a more subtle use of symbolism within his actions.

‘Conscious of Carl Jung’s theories of archetypal symbolism, Schwarzkogler’s recurring images of a man with his head, penis or whole body bandaged, juxtaposed with images of dead fish being sliced open or dead chickens dangling between his legs, are all open to various interpretations. In the later actions his symbolism became more personal, exploring psychological states, and were open to wider interpretations than the more obvious alchemical symbolism of the first action ‘Aktion ‘Hochzeit’ (marriage) 6 February 1965’.’ — Edith Adam

 

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Further

The Mind Museum: Rudolf Schwarzkogler and the Vienna Actionists
RS @ Richard Saltoun Gallery
Rudolf Schwarzkogler | the artist
Rudolf Schwarzkogler Brochure
L’imaginaire à l’Action
Surveying the Wounds
An Aesthetic Panorama: The Art of Rudolph Schwarzkogler
Zwarte kogel – in memory of Rudolf Schwarzkogler
Abject Modernism: The Male Body in the Work of Tatsumi Hijikata, Günter Brus and Rudolf Schwarzkogle
The image of the artist in Performance art: The Case of Rudolf Schwarzkogler
“Altered.” (Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Austrian Cultural Institute, New York, New York)
BODY ART #4: Rudolf Schwarzkogler
the transvestism of objects (thinking of Rudolf Schwarzkogler)

 

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Rudolf Schwarzkogler’s Penis

 

There is an account of Rudolf Schwarzkogler—introduced to the public by Time Magazine critic Robert Hughes in 1972—that maintains that the artist died as a result of deliberate and self-inflicted penis mutilations undertaken in a series of performances in the late 1960s. This account is entirely false. What is more, evidence of its falsehood is available and familiar, having been exposed by a multitude of scholarly studies and exhibitions on Schwarzkogler’s work. During his lifetime, Schwarzkogler was all but unknown outside his native Austria. The myth of his death made Schwarzkogler and the Viennese Actionists (the group of artists with whom he collaborated between 1963– 1969) notorious; but it has also demonstrably impacted the reception of performance art more broadly.

In June of 1965, Schwarzkogler undertook a scripted action for a private audience of colleagues and friends, which was performed in the Viennese apartment of Heinz Cibulka, his model. This action, Schwarzkogler’s third, was also explicitly intended to be photographed—by Ludwig Hoffenreich, a professional photographer—and it followed the descriptive outline of a written Aktionsablauf or ‘action program’. Schwarzkogler’s textual scores and drawn sketches indicate that he conceived of his actions as vehicles for methodical aesthetic exploration in the form of successive tableau arranged to be photographed. The production of action programs and preparatory sketches was by no means unique among the oeuvres of the Viennese Actionists, and Schwarzkogler’s contain specific details for understanding his actions. The sketches show the planned configurations of rooms, props, and models; the scores provide lists of materials used in the actions as well as the identities of the principal actors involved, for example, ‘C.’ indicating Cibulka and ‘S.’ Schwarzkogler.

Specifically, Action #3 used Cibulka’s body, which Schwarzkogler deliberately posed and juxtaposed with various objects, including a gauze-wrapped ball, electrical wire, rubber tubing, a glass medicine bottle with dropper, a fish, razor blades, scissors, a knife, and a dark stone. Hoffenreich’s photographs of Action #3 illustrate Schwarzkogler’s intent to construct and control an‘action field’—what the artist defined as‘the real objects found in the surroundings’ and ‘the space around the actor’.6 In many photographs, for example, the controlled staging of the model and objects is readily apparent: We see a bare-chested Cibulka lying atop a rectangular board that has been placed on the floor and covered with a white sheet; Hoffenreich’s shod right foot can be glimpsed in the bottom corner of the photograph as he shoots his subject from above. In others, Cibulka’s body is concealed by gauze bandages, first tightly wrapped and then disheveled; and in the final images, his head and torso are wrapped again in clear plastic sheeting. In all cases, whether standing upright, sitting, or prone, Cibulka’s body is connected, sometimes quite literally, to a prop—electrical wires are arranged to emanate from his mouth, encircle his head, or seemingly enter his arm like an intravenous drip.

In two photographs, Schwarzkogler himself actually appears in the frame standing behind Cibulka, cupping the side of his face to steady the deployment of a syringe; the next photograph shows his outstretched right hand lifting the edge of the bandage over Cibulka’s eye. Several images depict a large fish hanging down the middle of Cibulka’s naked back, which then reappears, its head decapitated, facing the camera and protruding from Cibulka’s penis with razorblades placed in its agape mouth. What will subsequently become the most controversial element, however, is his bandaged penis. A number of photographs exhibit it swaddled in white gauze secured by flesh-colored adhesive tape, and a few augment the suggestion of wounding. One photograph in particular includes dots of dark color spotting the gauze on Cibulka’s penis, while two others of Cibulka sitting astride the bandaged ball illustrate Schwarzkogler’s written directive for a ‘thin dark trickle’ to run from the model’s penis onto the ball. Three photographs juxtapose a pristinely bandaged penis laid on a table edge with more than a dozen razor blades, or surgical scissors and a syringe.

 

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Extras: Vienna Actionists

Günter Brus and Kurt Kren Selbstbemalung/Selbstverstümmelung (1965)

Kurt Kren 20/68 Schatzi (Trailer)

Günter Brus Selbstverstümmelung Self Mutilation, 1965

 

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Rudolf Schwarzkogler’s Unperformed Aktions
(English translation by Supervert)

Text 21
(1965)

drum with whitewashed bones
r
stretch a wire and hack through it
spill ashes
fill balloons with gas
hang up whitewashed dolls and cadavers
fill a balloon with foam pop it with a whip

weissgestrichene knochen, um damit zu trommeln
r
draht spannen und durchhacken
asche verschütten
ballons mit gas füllen
weissgestrichene puppen und kadaver aufhängen
einen ballon mit schaum füllen mit der peitsche aufschlagen

 

Text 22
(probably 1969)

A: holds an amethyst in his mouth, drinks a sip of wine, then spits the amethyst into a silver bowl, pours a sip of water over the amethyst in the silver bowl, takes out the amethyst and drinks the water

A: halt einen amethyst im mund, trinkt einen schluck wein, spuckt dann den amethyst in eine silberschale, giesst einen schluck wasser über den amethyst in die silbserschale, nimmt den amethyst heraus und trinkt das wasser

 

Text 27
(between 1966 and 1968)

lise a teleplay

she is a pretty girl
lise sits between two palm trees in a conservatory
she wears white stockings and shoes, a white dress, a white hat
she is surrounded by four musicians, a string quartet
the string quartet plays the string quartet in g minor by arnold schönberg
lise puts an ivory ball in her mouth and then drinks a sip of cherry liquor and spits the ivory ball into a silver bowl
first movement
lise takes off her dress
second movement
[lise puts the ivory ball in her nicely painted pussy and wets her nipples with spit]
third movement vomits
lise kneels down and with the help of a feather vomits into the bowl
fourth movement
lise has a basket of eggs in front of her and uses a syringe to begin filling them with inks bright red bright blue dark blue bright green dark green violet and then breaks the eggs over her knees (one after another)

third movement
lise drinks black coffee

lise ein fernsehspiel

sie ist ein schönes mädchen
in einem wintergarten sitzt lise zwischen palmbäumen
sie trät weisse strümpfe und schuhe, hat ein weisses kleid an, eine weissen hut auf
sie ist von vier philharmoniken umgeben, einem streichquartett
das streichquartett spielt das streichquartett in g moll von arnold schönberg
lise steckt eine elfenbeinkugel in den mund und trinkt darauf einen schluck kirschenlikör und spuckt die elfenbeinkugel in eine silbserschüssel
erster satz
lise zieht ihr kleid aus
zweiter satz
[lise steckt die elfenbeinkugel in ihre schöne geschminkte fut und benetzt ihre brustwarzen mit speichel]
dritter satz speiht
lise kniet nieder und erbricht mit hilfe einer feder in die schüssel
vierter satz
lise hat einen korb mit eiern vor sich und beginnt mit hilfe einer injektionsnadel tinten in die eier zu injizieren hellrot hellblau dunkelblau hellgrün dunkelgrün violett und schlägt die eier dann auf ihren knien auf (nebeneinander)

dritter satz
lise trinkt schwarzen kaffee

 

Text 37
(probably 1968)

screaming shrieking shattered glass
2 of the 3 actors lie head to head before the door, so that visitors must step over one of them to enter the room
3 bright red fluorescent squares measuring 1×1 m have been drawn at irregular intervals on the floor

sound:
air escaping from an air compressor
light:
blue
an actor holds a light bulb in his mouth and screws it into the socket
as soon as the light comes on, the sound of an electric bell is heard
darkness
flashlight
a man who has been nailed to the wall by the tips of his shoes at a height of 1 m, and whose hands have been tied behind him, bites on a [bright red…]
light:
rapidly alternating green and pink
then dark blue (indigo)
the first actor breaks open a vial containing ammonia
a sharp smell of ammonia penetrates the room
the third man opens a vein, the blood flows into a glass
kneeling the second actor presses a cloth soaked in chloroform over his face, until he falls unconscious
the first actor vomits into a bowl half filled with green fluid
sound:
SCREAMING
the first actor throws light bulbs
second

kreischen schreien zersplittertes glas
2 der 3 akteure liegen kopf an kopf so vor der tür, dass die besucher beim betreten des raums über einen steigen müssen
auf dem boden sind an 3 verschiedenen stellen in unregelmässigen abständen mit hellroter leuchtfarbe 1×1 m grosse quadrate gezeichnet

ton:
aus einer pressluftflasche entweichende luft
licht:
blau
[einer] hält eine glühbirne im mund und schraubt sich die fassung hinein
sobald das licht sichtbar wird, ertrönt das geräusch einer elektrischen klingel
dunkel
blitzlicht
einer, der mit den schuhspitzen in der höhe von 1 m an die wand genagelt ist, und dessen hände am rücken zusammengebunden sind, zerbeisst einen mit [hellroter]
licht:
schnell abwechseln grün und rosa
dann dunkelblau (indigo)
der erste zerbricht eine philoe mit salmiakgeist
eine penetranter geruch nach salmiakgeist zieht durch den raum
der dritte öffnet sich eine ader schweinwerfer, das blut fliesst in ein glas
der zeite akteur presst sich kniend ein mit chloroform getränktes tuch vor das gesicht, bis er ohnmächtig umfällt
der erste akteur erbricht in eine schüssel halbvoll grüner flüssigkeit
ton:
KREISCHEN
der erste wirft mit glühbirnen
zeite

 

Text 38
(1966)

painting action in an art gallery

syringes inject 1000 raw eggs with spirit colors (bright red bright blue dark blue bright green dark green violet) and the eggs thus prepared are cracked open on a large aluminum table by the visitors

malakt in einer kunstgalerie

in 1000 rohe eier werden mit injektionsspritzen spiritusfarben injiziert (hellrot hellblau dunkelblau hellgrün dunkelgrün violett) und die so präparierten eier von den besuchern auf einem grossen aluminiumtisch aufgeschlagen

 

Text 42
(1965)

his face is white
her dress is white
he knots a stocking around her throat
he blindfolds her eyes
he pours paint over her head he pours water over her breasts
he rips open her dress — he ties her arms behind her and then her legs and puts her on a bed
he slits her dress with a knife
he dips his hands in red paint
he touches her mouth
he bandages her face
he paints her white
he hooks a belt around her chest and hangs her from a hook — face down
he winds hoses around her

monochrome painted dolls and cadavers

sein gesicht ist weiss
ihr kleid ist weiss
er knotet ihr einen strumpf um den hals
er verklebt ihr die augen
er schüttet ihr farbe über den kopf er schüttet ihr wasser über die brüste
er zerreisst ihr kleid—er bindet ihr die arme hinten und die beine und legt sie aufs bett
er schlitzt ihr kleid mit dem messer
er tunkt seine hände in rote farbe
er greift ihr in den mund
er verbindet ihr gesicht
er überspritzt sie weiss
er bindet ihr einen gürtel um die brust und hängt sie an einen haken—gesicht unten
er umwindet sie mit schläuchen

monochrom gestrichene puppen und kadaver

 

Text 43
(ca 1965)

a white square a white circle

ether chloroform

a thin wire a needle

pulse glance

cut apart bitten off

the fever the conflagration

a yellow line a red line

ein weisses quadrat ein weisser kreis

äther chloroform

ein feiner draht eine nadel

pulsschlag blick

zerschnitten abgebissen

das fieber die feuersbrunst

ein gelber strich ein roter strich

 

Text 47
(between 1966 and 1968)

musical comedy for television (color television)

4 musicians (string quartet) sit in a conservatory and play the string quartet in g minor by arnold schönberg or another suitable string quartet
a young girl with white-colored hair clad in a white dress white stockings and shoes drinks a glass filled with a white liquid during the first movement
during the second movement she drinks a glass filled with a bright red liquid
during the third movement she drinks a glass filled with a dark violet liquid
during the fourth movement she kneels on the ground and with the help of a feather vomits into a bowl

musikalische komödie für’s fernsehen (farbfernsehen)

4 philharmoniker (streichquartett) sitzen in einem wintergarten und spielen das streichquartett in g moll von arnold schönberg oder ein anderes geeignetes streichquartett.
ein junges mädchen mit weiss gefärbtem haar bekleidet mit einem weissen kleid weissen strümpfen und schuhen trinkt während des ersten satzes ein glas gefüllt mit einer weissen flüssigkeit leer
während des zweiten satzes trinkt sie ein glas gefüllt mit einer hellroten flüssigkeit leer
während des dritten satzes trinkt sie ein glass gefüllt mit einer dunkelvioletten flüssigkeit leer
während des vierten satzes kniet sie auf dem boden nieder und erbricht mit hilfe einer hühnerfeder in eine schüssel

 

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Show

1 Aktion

 

2 Aktion

 

3 Aktion 1965

 

4 Aktion 1965

 

5 Aktion

 

6 Aktion

 

 

*

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