2013-2014
12€
20:30h
The ceremonies of the body in conceptual Catalan culture. Genealogical notes from Viennese Actionism
A non-progressive historical tour of the references to Viennese Actionism in Catalonia, taking as a starting point the pieces Jordi Benito presented at the Joan Miró Foundation in the early 1980s.
Manuel Segade holds a degree in Art History from the University of Santiago de Compostela. Since 1998 he has been working on fragments of a cultural history of aesthetic practices of the late nineteenth century, publishing the essay Narciso fin de siglo (Melusina, 2008). He has been coordinator of contents at the Metrònom, Rafael Tous Foundation for Contemporary Art in Barcelona and curator of the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporáneo in Santiago de Compostela. As an independent curator, he has worked for La Casa Encendida, ARCO, MUSAC, Centre d’Art La Panera and Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo. He is currently preparing a review for presentation next year of the history of Espai 10 and Espai 13 at the Joan Miró Foundation.
New Viennese Organic-Actionism
New Viennese Organic-Actionism is a surprising visual spectacle with Baroque intimations, which presents a scathing critique of contemporary society. The product derived from New Viennese Organic-Actionism is a set of large-scale action paintings documenting every move and every idea in a piece in which dance is transformed into painting.
Using very simple resources – organic fruits and vegetables, textiles, kitchen tools, a wooden stick and the body in movement –, the two actresses re-contextualize the political and ritual aspects of the tradition of action painting of the 1960s and 1970s. Despite the explicit references to pieces from Viennese Actionism, usually performed by male artists, this new form of Actionism is definitely a female initiative, carried out using 100% organic materials.
