Günter Brus's film of Rudolf Schwarzkogler’s Fourth Action (1965)
A study of Günter Brus' recently released film of the Fourth Action
In the summer of 1965, Rudolf Schwarzkogler (1940-1969[1]) directed his fourth Action[2] with Heinz Cibulka (b.1943)[3] as model assisted by Edith Adams. The action was photographed by Franziska Cibulka (Krammel) and filmed in 8mm b/w by Günter Brus (b.1938).
The sound of the 8mm camera is heard. The head of Cibulka face and hair heavily greased eyes highlighted with black make-up is isolated resting on the edge of table covered by white cloth with white background. Cibulka blinks his head obscured by a white oval head-sized featureless form on his left in the foreground neatly folded bandages black match-box cigarette packet. Cibulka’s head connected at his temple by white cable to black matchbox in foreground to left of image the oval form. A protruding wedge of white folded cellulose in Cibulka’s mouth. The cable vanishes he lets his head fall slowly to the left. His head is bandaged from above his eyes to his nose his mouth filled with white cellulose a cable from head-sized form attached to black match-box to his temple. A tangle of electrical cables on the table is attached under the bandage covering the side of his head below his ear. A picture frame with a black border stands on the white tablecloth in front of tangled black cables. Cibulka’s head bandaged from above his nostrils supports a mass of congealed white tallow on which rests the black match-box. The match box disappears. A rivulet of black fluid runs down from the top of the congealed tallow to the top of the bandage on the left side of his face. Cibulka’s chin above white cloth folded white cellulose fills his mouth his fingers with black painted nails caress the cellulose. The fingers pull black string mesh over Cibulka’s fully bandaged head. Cibulka’s bandaged head in black mesh with cellulose on white tablecloth. The fingers touch his head. He chews spits out half-chewed cellulose masticates the fingers hold his chin. Cibulka’s head bandaged from crown to nose two plasters attached in form of cross on his right temple next to white head-sized oval form with single plaster positioned on upper left side. The fingers with black painted nails rest on folded bandages. Cibulka’s head covered in white bandages trussed in string divided into six sections. His head is guided forwards and backwards by hand with painted nails. Empty photo frame with narrow edges on table tilts backwards forwards. Cibulka’s face trussed in string mesh with white cellulose in mouth. A white globe suspended above the table by black string rotates left then right spins faster then unwinds. In the background the head of Cibulka is bandaged to crown divided with string into four sections. Scissor blades cut piece of black string. Cibulka’s half-bandaged face from crown to nose nestled against white rock-shaped form. Black liquid drips from right temple down cheek onto white rock-shaped form. The hand with black painted fingernails rests on Cibulka’s bandaged skull pulls it to right away from rock-shaped form. Cibulka’s lips are closed facing left head resting on white cloth. Black liquid seeps through bandages on his upper head down left-side of his face nested against the white rock-shaped form. Black cabling entwined in front of his stained bandaged head and rock-shaped form. Black cabling black match-box small black objects black white grey rock-shaped forms of varied size shape isolated on table appear and vanish. Empty white tablecloth. White oval shaped form black stained congealed white tallow grey black rock-sized forms on tablecloth appear disappear. Cibulka lies on white cloth naked from waist up his right arm bent hand above head left arm bent right hand resting against midriff two pieces of string encircle his torso below nipples and midriff attached to his right arm. Black rock form appears above left arm white tallow and grey rock shaped form encircled by string by right elbow face criss-crossed by white string. Same images fluctuate. White cloth laid across Cibulka’s upper body black rock shaped form in crook of elbow upper face criss-crossed by black white cables which dissolve in slow motion lowers his arms on inside of his upturned out-stretched left arm a black line from elbow to wrist. Cibulka lies naked from waist up on front head turned to side with white tallow congealed mass on neck gapes fish-like white cloth floats down past his right shoulder. Tangle of wires on his head hands tied behind back. Rock shaped grey ball rolled up his naked back up falls off six times. He covers eyes with hands white cotton cloth over eyes left hand raised to hold tangle of black white wires above head. A white head-sized sphere to right of his head. Rapid staccato repeated images bare light bulb aerial view of table two bandage strips in form of cross attached to left of table tangled wires objects white black stone-shaped forms. Blank white screen.[4]
The reel of Brus’s film of the action was only available after the death of his partner Edith Adam (1943-1996).
Unlike the photographs taken of Schwarzkogler’s actions, this film clearly shows the environment the artist created for his performances. The boundless white setting removes all spatial points of reference, creating a ‘non-space’ cited by both Brus and Schwarzkogler as the point of departure for their actions. This non-space also highlights Schwarzkogler’s roots in the legacy of forebears like Kazimir Malevich and Yves Klein, seekers of abstraction and metaphysics in art. (Altenberg)
Indeed, Brus’s film is the only filmic record of Schwarzkogler’s eight individual actions.[5] For his other actions, the photographic record and his own documentation are the primary sources. Apart from his first action (Hochzeit 1965), where a small number of close friends and three photographers were present, Schwarzkogler performed his subsequent actions in private and according to a carefully planned staging (Badura-Triska 108). Brus’s film thus provides a unique record of a performance of the most complex and intellectual of the Viennese Actionists.
Works Cited
Altenberg, Theo. “Surveying the Wounds.” Frieze, no. 3, 2011. www.frieze.com/article/%C3%BCbersicht-der-wunden. Accessed 11 July 2021.
Badura-Triska. “Stagerd Photography.” Vienna Actionism. Edited by Eva Badura-Triska and Hubert Klocker, mumok, 2012, pp. 96-121.
Jarosi, Susan. “The Image of the Artist in Performance Art: The Case of Rudolf Schwarzkogler.” Sztuka i Dokumentacja,, no. 8, 2013, pp 65-77.
Jones, Derek, editor. Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. Vol. 1-4, Routledge, 2015.
Jutz, Gabriel. “Vienna Actionism and Film.” Vienna Actionism, edited by Eva Badura-Triska and Hubert Klocker, mumok, 2012, pp. 136-57.
Klocker, Hubert. “Das aktionsphotographische Oeuvre: Gestaltung und Organisation.” Schwarzkogler, pp. 139-56.
---. “Chronologie und Beschreibung.” Badura-Triska, Eva and Hubert Klocker, editors. Schwarzkogler. Ritter, 1992, pp. 169-238.
Schwarzkogler, Rudolf. 4. Aktion. Filmed by Günter Brus, performance by Heinz Cibulka, 1965.
[1] The circumstances surrounding Schwarzkogler’s death are disputed, but it is established it resulted from a fall from his apartment window in Vienna; see for a discussion of the origins of the misconception that he died from self-mutilation, Susan Jarosi’s article “The Image of the Artist in Performance Art: The Case of Rudolf Schwarzkogler”.
[2] Schwarzkogler performed eight individual actions in the period , with the fifth action performed with Hermann Nitsch (b.1938) being divided into 5, 5b, and 5c (Klocker 157-58).
[3] Heinz Cibulka, who also served as model in Schwarzkogler’s second and third Actions, published his recollections and photographs in Mein Körper bei Aktionen von Nitsch und Schwarzkogler Edizioni Marra, 1977.
[4] The following description, italicised, of Schwarzkogler’s fourth Action is based on my observation of the action filmed by Brus from the version with a running time of 4:15 minutes. A description of this Action in German with photographs is published in Schwarzkogler, edited by Eva Badura-Triska and Hubert Klocker at pp. 203-12. This description by Hubert Klocker is based on the photos of Franziska Cibulka as at the date of publication, Brus’s film version was not available.
[5] Schwarzkogler also participated in actions staged by: Otto Muehl (Luftbaloonkonzert 1964; Aktion für Al Hansen 1966), Hermann Nitsch (Action No. 7, 1965); Otto Muehl and Günter Brus (Mit Schwung in Neue Jahr 1968); and with Anni Brus, Günter Brus and Otto Muehl.(Satisfaction 1968).