Mothers of Invention

Vienna-based artists Carola Dertnig and Stefanie Seibold have been invited to carry out a project in the Factory of the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (MUMOK). The exhibition illustrates the development of performance art, its requisite art and activist spaces, and of (political) interest groups dealing with issues such as feminism, gays and lesbians, as well as free love and sexuality.

Places like the Rosa Lila Villa or the Dramatisches Zentrum in Vienna, Franklin Furnace in New York, or the Woman’s Building in Los Angeles serve as activist spaces and centers of gender-focused discussions. They have made as substantial a contribution to the promotion of performance art as clubs and discotheques – traditionally the “test sites” of gender definitions – or experimental art and theater spaces.

The show is comprised of works by 35 Austrian and international artists and groups of artists. It includes, above all, documentary material such as films or photographs as well as emblematic works by individual artists. Particular attention is devoted to actions revolving around feminist, queer, or gender-bending issues which, for all their impact on the “scene”, have been largely ignored by official art history. The project considers itself a “growing archive” – by relying on a kind of “snowball system”, works have been co-selected based on additional input provided by artists, theorists, and other experts.

“Mothers of Invention – Where Is Performance Coming from” demonstrates how performance is intertwined with political and social issues, thus contributing to a reassessment of historical and contemporary performance strategies, particularly by women.

The opening night on 5 December (starting at 7:00 p.m.) features a concert with SV Damenkraft which starts in the MUMOK Factory at 7:45 p.m. Events scheduled for 6 and 7 December include performances, concerts, and lectures, designed to encourage close interaction between the lecturers and the audience, and thus to spawn new ideas for performance strategies, networking, and archiving.

Artists and artist groups represented in the exhibition: A.Mo.K, >a room of one’s own< Ariadne, Renate Bertlmann, Christa Biedermann, Canon Club, Clever Gretel, SV Damenkraft, Rony Daopoulos und Annabella Miscuglio, De Appel, Die Tödliche Doris, Mary Beth Edelson, Valie Export MAGNA Feminismus: Kunst und Kreativität 1975, Franklin Furnace, Penelope Georgiou, Happy, INTAKT, International Feminist Collaborative Group, Rudi Katzer, KessyLuxOrganisation, Suzanne Lacy, Danica Minic, Minimal Club, Wolfgang Müller, Ulrike Müller re:tracing feminist art program, Rosa Lila Villa, Supersalons, Salon Lady Chutney, Inga Svala Thorsdottir, TeamPingPong, Terre Thaemlitz, Vibeke Pedersen, Annette Wehrmann, Martha Wilson, Woman´s Building, Women down the pub Diagrams: Linda Bilda, supapaula

MUMOK Factory

artist/s:
A.Mo.K, a room of one’s own, Ariadne, Renate Bertlmann, Christa Biedermann, Canon Club, Clever Gretel , SV Damenkraft, Rony Daopoulos & Annabella Miscuglio, De Appel , Die tödliche Doris (Käthe Kruse, Wolfgang Müller (Ulfur Hrodolfsson) , Nikolaus Utermöhlen), Mary Beth Edelson, VALIE EXPORT MAGNA Feminismus, Franklin Furnace, Penelope Georgiou, Happy , INTAKT , International Feminist Collaborative Group , Rudi Katzer, KessyLuxOrganisation, Suzanne Lacy, Danica Minic, Minimal Club , Wolfgang Müller (Ulfur Hrodolfsson), Ulrike Müller re:tracing feminist art program, Rosa Lila Villa, Supersalons, Salon Lady Chutney, Inga Svala Thorsdottir, TeamPingPong, Terre Thaemlitz, Vibeke Pedersen, Annette Wehrmann, Martha Wilson, Woman´s Building, Women down the pub Diagrams: Linda Bilda, supapaula