Otto Mühl's pictures are undisguisedly atheistic, anti-clerical and provokingly direct: "Attacking taboos" is the artist's declared aim. Sexuality, the Church, society and death are the central subjects of the work that he has produced in prison over the last seven years. With generally sharp contours and lurid colouration they describe the reality of prison life, portray members of the clergy and personalities from the political stage, paraphrasing popular works from art history - mostly alienated by "perverse vocabulary" (Otto Mühl). Having generated heated debate in the early sixties with his abstract material works and in particular with his scandalous actions where he elevated the body to a form of artistic expression, Otto Mühl has now turned to representationalism in his latest work. This volume which includes Otto Mühl's own words in a manifesto, an interview and even in a theatre-piece, presents for the first time the most recent body of work by this controversial Austrian artist. The artist: Otto Mühl, born 1925 in Grodnau/Burgenland. 1943-1945 soldier in the Second World War. 1952 teaching qualification in German and History in Wiener Neustadt. 1953 embarks on a degree in art pedagogics at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna. Already during his studies working as an art-therapist, from 1958 onwards in a home for children with learning difficulties. 1966 founds the Institute for Direct Art with Günter Brus. 1970 sets up the Praterstraße commune in Vienna. 1972-1990 commune in Friedrichshof. 1991 condemned to seven years imprisonment for offending against public morals and contravening the law on addictive substances; released in December 1997.
Community Notes