Christian Attersee
Encyclopedia
Christian Ludwig Attersee (born Christian Ludwig on 28 August 1940 in Bratislava
is an Austria
n artist.
movement. Being very intrigued by object and action art from the start, Attersee attempted to combine music, speech, photo and video art with the basic form to create a new form of total artwork (also known by the German term Gesamtkunstwerk
) like object inventions such as the "Speisekugel" ("food sphere"), the "Speiseblau" ("food blue"), the "Prothesenalphabet" ("prosthetical alphabet"), the "Speicheltönung" ("saliva tinge" or "saliva hue"), the female vagina
as an object of arts as well as the self-coined "Attersteck". In later years, the quintessence of his work shall be characterized by subjects like sexuality and natural studies.
His work is denoted by a figural-to-symbolic style transition, bright colors and an energetic ductus. Moreover, there are ambiguous, artsy connotations and imaginations of a likewise free-spirit and somewhat very Austrian mentality with a bias towards sexual malapropism. The context too gets incorporated into the artist's work many times, along with additional textual elements embedded into it.
C. L. Attersee's exhibitions are likely to be composed of artistical shows, accompanied by music and literature; to some extent even by fellow artists attending and participating in the show.
In 1984, he was representing his home country at the Venice Biennial. Since 1990, Attersee has been holding a chair at the Vienna University of Applied Arts
and is one of the most renowned contemporary Austrian artists worldwide.
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
is an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n artist.
Biography
After he had spent his youth in Upper Austria (also at the Attersee, that's where his artist's name comes from), Attersee began his studies in 1957 at the then-named Vienna Akademie für angewandte Kunst (Academy of Applied Arts, in 1998 renamed to "University of Applied Arts") with E. Bäumer, keeping these up until 1963. From 1966 on, he got in touch with the short-lived Viennese ActionismViennese Actionism
The term Viennese Actionism describes a short and violent movement in 20th century art that can be regarded as part of the many independent efforts of the 1960s to develop "action art" . Its main participants were Günter Brus, Otto Mühl, Hermann Nitsch and Rudolf Schwarzkogler. As "actionists",...
movement. Being very intrigued by object and action art from the start, Attersee attempted to combine music, speech, photo and video art with the basic form to create a new form of total artwork (also known by the German term Gesamtkunstwerk
Gesamtkunstwerk
A Gesamtkunstwerk is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so...
) like object inventions such as the "Speisekugel" ("food sphere"), the "Speiseblau" ("food blue"), the "Prothesenalphabet" ("prosthetical alphabet"), the "Speicheltönung" ("saliva tinge" or "saliva hue"), the female vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
as an object of arts as well as the self-coined "Attersteck". In later years, the quintessence of his work shall be characterized by subjects like sexuality and natural studies.
His work is denoted by a figural-to-symbolic style transition, bright colors and an energetic ductus. Moreover, there are ambiguous, artsy connotations and imaginations of a likewise free-spirit and somewhat very Austrian mentality with a bias towards sexual malapropism. The context too gets incorporated into the artist's work many times, along with additional textual elements embedded into it.
C. L. Attersee's exhibitions are likely to be composed of artistical shows, accompanied by music and literature; to some extent even by fellow artists attending and participating in the show.
In 1984, he was representing his home country at the Venice Biennial. Since 1990, Attersee has been holding a chair at the Vienna University of Applied Arts
University of Applied Arts Vienna
The University of Applied Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university status since 1970.-History:...
and is one of the most renowned contemporary Austrian artists worldwide.