Startsida Konstvetenskap Musikvetenskap Semiotik Aktuellt Studentinfo Bibliotek Pictura Lunds universitet
	Department of Art History and Musicology
	Department of Art History Hans T Sternudd Proposal: An adjusted sign model for action art Example o. m. theatre Introduction Action art: a short history and terminology The semiotics of theatre Hermann Nitsch The semiotics of o. m. theatre The intention References Notes   The intention The close relation between the way ritual and action art communicate has been discussed above. Despite the fact that only a few examples are mentioned here, a broader look at the action art scene gives the same impression. Does this mean that every artist connected to action art has religious intentions of their work? Probably not, although it is interesting to note that many action artists express spiritual opinions, such as Joseph Beuys, Bruce Nauman and Marina Abramovic. There is, however, among many of these artists, a wish to communicate by the use of actions in direct contact with the real world, an urge to find an expression that does not have to go a long way around a complicated system of signs. Communication through direct actions. The romantic strive to find a holistic conception of the world, by means of healing art, is also to be found as a point of departure for many action artists. From this point of view, action art is a way to bridge the gap created by dichotomies such as expression vs. content, matter vs. spirit or life vs. art.   References Bildjournalen 1/1998, Malmö: Sveriges Television 1998. Brus Muehl Nitsch Schwarzkogler, Writings of the Vienna Actionists, (ed.: Green, Malcolm) London: Atlas Press 1999. Elam, Keir (1980): The Semiotics of Theatre and Drama, London & New York: Methuen. Fischer-Lichte, Erika (1983, 1992): The Semiotics of Theater, Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press 1992. Friedman, Ken (1990:1): "Fluxus and Company", Lund Art Press, Vol. 1, No. 4. – (1990:2): "Getting into Events", from The Fluxus Performance Workbook, El Djarida 1990:2 p. 4-6. happening & fluxus, (catalogue, ed.: Sohm, H.) Köln: Koelnisher Kunstverein 1970. McEvilley, Thomas (1983): "Diogenes of Sinope (c. 410 - 320 BC), Selected Performance Pieces", Artforum March 1983. p. 58-59. van Mechelen, Marga (1999): "Replay and Interplay, Marina Abramovic’s Stage Performances as a Polysemic Device", Visio 4:1 1999. p. 111-125. Nitsch, Hermann (1964): könig oedipus, eine spielbare theorie des dramas, Berlin: Verlag Jochen Knoblauch/Edition Kalter Schweiss 1986. — (1998) ich möchte nicht von der medizinisch naturwissenschaftlichen seite über blut erzählen, 1998-08-04. Speech by Nitsch at the 6 day play, title the first sentence. Sjölin, Jan-Gunnar (1993): "Inledning", Att tolka bilder, (ed.: Sjölin) Lund: Studentlitteratur. Sonesson, Göran (1992): Bildbetydelser, Inledning till bildsemiotiken som vetenskap, Lund: Studentlitteratur. — (1998) "That there are many kinds of iconic Signs", Visio 3:1. p. 33-54. — (1999) "El lugar del rito en la semiótica del espectáculo/Ritens plats i skådespelets semiotik", Heterogénesis 29, Oktober/1999. p. 14-27. Spera, Danielle (1999): Herman Nitsch, Leben und Arbeit, Wien & München: Verlag Christian Brandstätter . Ubi Fluxus ibi motus 1990-1962, (catalogue, ed.: Oliva, Achille Bonito) Milano: Mazzotta 1990. Wiener Aktionismus, Wien 1960-1971, Der zertrümmerte Spigel/Viennese Aktionism, Vienna 1960-1971, The Shattered Mirror, Günter Brus, Otto Mühl, Hermann Nitsch, Rudolf Schwarzkogler, (catalogue, ed.: Klocker, Hubert) Klagenfurt: Ritter Verlag 1989. the 6 day play, The setting, The material 1998. http://www.nitsch.org/ien/6tage_e.htm Notes 1 This article is based on a lecture, "o. m. theatre — ritual art or arty rituals", at the Department of Semiotics at Lund University, May 10th 2000 2 When the history of action and performance art is written, the experimental performances of Dadaists and futurists, at the beginning of the 20th century, are often chosen as a starting point. Some art historians go back to the parades and theatre works of the renaissance artists or the symbolist theatre found in Paris during the 1880’s. A closer look at these experiments reveals that they are basically of the same type as conventional theatre or dance. The avant-garde theatre challenged the traditional narrative structure of a play, the actors acted provocatively and the subjects of the plays were often not regarded as suitable for a theatre stage. In spite of these experimental elements, semiotic actions dominated and they had the same type of fictional I/here/now as traditional theatre. The aesthetic aspect dominated avant-garde dance performances. 3 There is a very clear connection between Bauhaus and Black Mountain College. When the Nazi regime closed the school, a lot of teachers, among them Alberts, flew to the USA and began to work at the college. In this way the stage experiments of Bauhaus may have been very important for the development of action art in the 50’s. 4 It was the Fluxus artist and theorist Ken Friedman who coined the term signature art. See Friedman 1990. 5 Marina Abramovi´c talking to Christoffer Barnekow, Bildjournalen 1/1998, Malmö: Sveriges Television 1998. 6 The description of the semiotics of theatre is chiefly based on Erika Fischer-Lichte's book on the subject. See Fischer-Lichte 1992. 7 The term intermedia is used to signify artworks that cross the boundaries between different disciplines. Dick Higgins, the Fluxus artist, coined the word in the 60’s. The artists in the Fluxus group discussed the possibility of creating poetry as sculpture, music as poems and so on. See Friedman 1990. 8 Many Viennese artists participated in the action staged by this group. Günter Brus, Otto Mühl, Hermann Nitsch and Rudolf Schwarzkogler are usually regarded as the inner circle. See Wiener Aktionismus 1989, the history of the group and Brus Muehl Nitsch Schwarzkogler, Writings of the Vienna Actionists 1999, manifestos and theoretical works signed by the actionists. Daniella Spera describes Nitsch’s oeuvre in Hermann Nitsch, Leben und Arbeit 1999. 9 In the following, the actual scene, not the photo, the photographical representation of it, is analysed. 10 Compare this with the problem of the dummy that is discussed in Sonesson 1998. 11 This part takes its point of departure in Sonesson 1999.
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