ON STAGE – All the Art World’s a Stage

The exhibition "ON STAGE" explores the various theatrical and stage-related forms of expression in art since the 1960s, when a neo-avant-garde critical of tradition began focusing on performative and actionist art forms that endowed artists with a stage-like presence, often in front of an audience. The Viennese Actionism with its provocative and time-critical theatricality is just as much a part of this as the Vienna Group, whose "literary cabaret" stands firmly in the tradition of Dadaist theater, or the Fluxus-Movement with its media crossovers. Alongside these maledominated art forms, a feminist scene established itself that portrayed and challenged the effects of patriarchal social hierarchies on gender roles. They form the historical basis for more recent positions that oppose conservatively determined gender roles and images of identity, as well as racism and colonialism. Other thematic areas include musical and cinematic productions, (self-)representations and rituals of the art business as well as works in which viewers become actors. The exhibition shows 150 works and work series, most of which are culled from the holdings of the mumok collection.

Curated by Rainer Fuchs