In preparation of the performance premiere Assessment that will take place at brut in February 2023, artist Roland Rauschmeier invites audiences to the studio of Wiener Tanz- und Kunstbewegung. On four evenings, he will present and examine historical, sociological, and psychological motives of terrorist violence. The aim is to find an artistic approach to this phenomenon and to allow glimpses into the work and research process before the premiere.
16 November: Introduction into terrorist tactics since the 1960s. A general introduction will lead to the subject of structural and individual violence aimed at asserting certain interests.
17 November: An Italian revolutionary: Felice Orsini. A look at the life of the Italian count and lawyer, who was guillotined on 14 January 1858 for his attack on Napoleon III.
16 January: The Bible Christ: John Brown. About the American movement of abolitionism and John Brown’s attack on a US armory.
17 January: Imitation: Act, propaganda, and sacrifice. Spatial installation and final presentation.
On the performance Assessment: The human brain coordinates blood pressure and body temperature, it processes pain and sensual input. But most of its activity is active in triggering one’s own actions and combining the consequences resulting therefrom into a meaningful whole. Assessment represents different aspects of this cognitive process, from recognition to decision and to action. The performance, first shown on 16–18 February 2023, deals with the authenticity of self-awareness when rational decisions are to be made or explained.
Roland Rauschmeier studied philosophy in Munich, Berlin, and Vienna. He attended Renée Green’s class for conceptual art at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and graduated in 2004. His artistic practice belongs to the post-Internet art movement that deals with the impact, aesthetic, and socio-cultural implications of the Internet. Roland Rauschmeier’s formal work ranges from performance to sculpture and painting and even to digital media.
A co-production by Wiener Tanz- und Kunstbewegung and brut Wien. With the kind support of the City of Vienna’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
brut at WTKB studio
Pernerstorfergasse 5, 1100 Vienna