personal structures

first published by a virtual biennale, line magazine

www.avirtualbiennale.tumblr.com

“Here is the blood,” he said. When I heard him say it, I thought, “Oh fuck!” I had feared this moment from the very beginning, and now I would be served my blood. I opened my mouth, slowly. My lips and tongue, the whole inside of my mouth and actually my entire body, I felt everything longing for this taste. I opened my mouth. The blood…, what a fantastic fluid! It was a little cold, but it was this thick, really nice tasting, wonderful liquid. My mouth was anxious, as if the complete surface of the inside of my mouth was full of desire to get all the taste. My tongue reached inside this stream of blood that was flowing into my mouth. It was filling my cheeks and I let as much of this blood inside my mouth as possible, to taste it as intense as I could, everywhere in my mouth. This was such a fantastic experience. This was so erotic. This was so unlike anything I had ever tasted. This was wonderful.’  - Karlyn de Jongh

“Now, you will be given the blood”, Nitsch’s son told me. Finally I would find out how this would be. I had been a little nervous about the blood; its taste and the smell. “Open up your mouth”; I obeyed. For the sensation I was about to feel, I could not have been prepared for. I never had even thought about this possibility at all. The feeling of getting blood poured into my mouth was more than surprising, the cool substance felt fantastic. This creamy liquid, filling the cavity of my mouth, running down along the side of my face onto my neck, this felt highly erotic. Immediately I wanted more, but I could not ask for it, I had to wait. Having the taste of blood still in my mouth, I was trying to think what it reminded me of; it tasted like the smell of raw meat, and there was this saltiness to it. I cannot remember how often exactly I was given blood whilst lying on my table, but it must have been several times. I felt at peace. This sensation was every time so strong, I could have laid there forever while being fed with blood.’  - Sarah Gold

Proposed as an exhibition dedicated to the ‘concepts of Time, Space and Existence,’ ‘Personal Structures’ boasts an impressive list of participating artists: Marina Abramović, Carl Andre, Joseph Kosuth, Hermann Nitsch and Lawrence Weiner amongst the 28. Each room of the Palazzo Bembo is dedicated to one artist, creating strong divisions between the various evaluations, aesthetics and atmospheres. 

Marina Abramović presents Confession, a 60 minute video-loop in which the artist stares at a motorised donkey, while her ‘confession’ text scrolls along the bottom of the screen. The film is captivating in its slow, progressive revealing of Abramović’s intimate family secrets. The majority of the artists produced new artworks for ‘’Personal Structures’’, such as Joseph Kosuth’s site-specific work which features quotations from Samuel Beckett, Ludwig Wittgenstein and John Ruskin. The fact that these works are entirely contemporary and presented in such a segregate manner results in an engaging exhibition which, in fact, manifests as a series of ‘mini-exhibitions.’

Specifically, the room dedicated to the work of Hermann Nitsch presents such a self-fulfilled environment, that the exhibition is momentarily forgotten as a collaborative effort. Nitsch presents his 130th Aktion, which involves the two Dutch curators of ‘Personal Structures’, Karlyn de Jongh and Sarah Gold. As ‘passive actors’ the two women were led through one Nitsch’s famous crucifixion re-enactments - blindfolded, naked and bound to separate crosses. 

The elaborate performance requires hundreds of helpers, dead squid, pigs, octopi and 300 litres of blood - which the women drink, while erected on their crosses. Accompanying the photographic and film documentation of the event itself, are two written accounts of the day: one by Sarah Gold and one by Karlyn de Jongh. Both women savour the experience, claiming it as ‘erotic’; the blood as a ‘wonderful liquid’ which they became extremely aroused by. Their personal accounts are intensely personal - possibly uncomfortably so, revealing every intimate, sordid thought reflected on over the course of the day-long performance. 

As ‘passive’ actors, de Jongh and Gold were required to be as neutral as possible, just ‘Being, and being used.’ The ‘active’ actors swarmed around the blindfolded women, in what looks like a frantic, irrational manner, but every ‘active’ detail was ordered by Nitsch. Intestines, livers, kidneys,  pigs, octopi, tomatoes, grapes and strawberries were thrown onto the bodies of the passive women, and they describe the feelings of each substance with fervour. The pig is a vast carcass, slowly and deliberately lowered onto the naked bodies, which at the end of the ‘Aktion’ the performers were allowed to cook and eat. While Nitsch plans his ‘active’ movements, he cannot plan the ‘passive’ reaction, and this was the first time that two women had sex during one of his ‘Aktions.’  Lying amidst a pool of blood, with hundreds of people watching, urging and filming, Gold and De Jongh gradually found themselves having sex. In their written accounts of this event, they both seem strong willed, so aroused by ‘the blood, sliding,’ that this felt like an inevitability. Although, watching the two blindfolded women on the film, their actions looks hesitant, less self-assured, and  awkward.

Watching Nitsch’s ‘Aktion’ feels like an intrusion. It is the epitome of voyeurism; seeing the two central characters blindfolded and guided through controversial procedures. However, this intimate observation is displaced by the hundreds of people who are also present in the film, dressed in bright white but soaked in red blood, sponging the skin of the women, gently goading them into various positions. It is a complex confusion of pornography, masochism, perversion, contrivance, freedom and sub-ordinance. These elements become more disconcerting when one learns that these two women are the curators of the exhibition; knowing their specific presence makes the ‘Aktion’ resonate on a new level, understanding them as people rather than ‘passive actors.’ 

Each room in the Palazzo Bembo offers its own engaging exhibition, with eminent artist appearing after eminent artist. That the exhibition is dedicated to ‘Time, Space and Existence’ is, inevitably, unclear throughout. However, with such a broad concept that can be examined in numerous ways, and extended to limitless subjects and possibilities, that does not feel like so much of a downfall. 

Interview with Curators Sarah Gold and Karlyn de Jongh

Kathryn Lloyd: Could you explain why you were so interested in curating an exhibition which deals with the ambiguous concepts Time, Space and Existence, and how you selected artists who specifically explore these ideas? 

Sarah Gold & Karlyn de Jongh: The concepts Time, Space and Existence are important for human beings in general. With our project ‘’Personal Structures’’ we address these themes in contemporary art, trying to heighten people’s awareness of their own personal Existence as human beings within a specific Space and Time.

For ‘Personal Structures’, we selected artists on the basis of them being very dedicated and sincerely working with either Time Space or Existence for a number of years. In this exhibition we present different perspectives towards these concepts, by artists from different parts of the world and from different generations. This means that it is not relevant if the artworks we present are aesthetically pleasing to us or not. Rather, it is the ideas and the sincerity in the execution of the artworks which convinced us.

KL: You have produced an extremely impressive exhibition in terms of the participating artists: Marina Abramovic, Carl Andre, Joseph Kosuth etc., and you have curated the exhibition so that each room of the Palazzo Bembo is dedicated to a singular artist. Why did you make this decision to create such a separated exhibition environment?

SG & KDJ: ‘Personal Structures’ is an open platform with which we attempt to give artists the opportunity to present their work. Our exhibition is therefore a group-presentation of single statements. We gave each artist their own space and the freedom to do with that space what they wanted. The artist has the control over their own space and can focus on what they wants to say. Most of the artists took this opportunity to make a work especially for that specific space and some – Joseph Kosuth and Rene Rietmeyer, for example – even created their work within the exhibition space itself. In this way, it was possible to create strong site-specific statements. Having 24 rooms, Palazzo Bembo is a perfect location for our exhibition. Walking through the exhibition, the visitor gets a new impression each time he enters a room, a different perspective towards Time, Space and Existence. The viewer can concentrate on the individual artists, without any interference between the different works. 

KL: As well as curating ‘Personal Structures’, you also participated in Hermann Nitsch’s 130th Aktion. Watching this performance, and reading your accounts of the day in question, it appears to be an extremely intense experience. How has your perception of the piece changed through seeing it in a gallery environment? 

SG & KDJ: During the Aktion we were blindfolded. We did not see anything of what was happening around us. Instead, we felt, heard, tasted and smelled what was going on. The photos and film that were made of Nitsch’s Aktion allowed us to also see the artwork of which we were part ourselves. Seeing it here in the photos and video shows how aesthetically impressive and intense Nitsch’s performance is. 

KL: Do you find it difficult to witness the piece in this context, after the event itself?

SG & KDJ: To us it is not difficult to see the 130th Aktion in the context of this exhibition. On the contrary: it is a delight. Although the performance took place more than a year ago and it feels to us far away, seeing it in the exhibition space reminds us every day of what Nitsch wants to say. It reminds us to live our life more consciously, to experience it to the maximum with all our senses and to share life together with others. 

KL: Do you find any difficulties in participating in the exhibition as well as curating it? Even though you are not participating artists, you provide a crucial role in Hermann Nitsch's piece. Additionally, do you think that the fact you are curators of the exhibition, changes the way in which viewers regard that particular work?

SG & KDJ: In the exhibition we show Nitsch’s 130th Aktion in a series of photos, a video and two texts we wrote very honestly and openly about our experience of being part of this event. It is a unique, personal presentation of Nitsch’s work. Even though Nitsch has been creating his “Orgien Mysterien Theater” for more than 40 years, we noticed that for several visitors it is still quite shocking to witness and there is still quite a lot of misunderstanding surrounding it. By having spent time with Nitsch for our project “Hermann Nitsch: Under My Skin”, we gained more knowledge about his thoughts and work. Being in Palazzo Bembo every day ourselves, we speak with many visitors and try to explain to them very directly from our own personal experience about his work, which then often encourages them to look closer into what Nitsch is actually about.