Wiener Aktionismus Museum

The only museum dedicated to Wiener Aktionismus in the world. A must see for art lovers while in Vienna.

Great museum about a topic I have never heard of before! Truly amazing stuff, but be prepared for gore and quite some explicit content. Maybe don't bring your 5 y/o. The staff are also kind and helpful. Takes about an hour if you go through without going thru every detail. If you read and observe everything it's 1.5-2 hours. Very grateful I got to see it 🥰

Good place for shopping

This review was originally written in December of 2024, but the content moderation at Google has kept it from being published. A very nice overview of Wiener Aktionismus and the main actors of the movements. I'm a big fan of Günter Brus, and the museum did not fail to satisfy my desires for his work. Other artists are also well-represented, but I suggest visitors to leaf through some of the books as well, as there are (as with any curated exhibition) more photos and more information on pieces that will really add to one's experience of the work. There was a lack of discussion about charges brought against the artists, including the ones from the very conservative Vienna government which resulted in Brus' flight to avoid imprisonment, and Mühl's charges (I don't feel the need to detail them here). I would have loved more context about why artists were not allowed to indirectly criticize Austria (but then, maybe this is something that still cannot be discussed? Austria is a staunch supporter of states with activities that have been globally disavowed, after all...), and definitely some more biographical information on Mühl, who seems to have been a very tortured person indeed. Additionally, though Ana/Anni Brus is mentioned and pictured quite often, her story is not told. And, beyond the core 4 artists, others involved in the movement are not mentioned. A room dedicated to how Wiener Aktionismus influenced today (or even what traditions it rose out of!) would be fantastic. From Extinction Rebellion (XR) to Pussy Riot to The Satanic Temple to the Guerrilla Girls, there are obvious influences (including political motivation executed through catharsis-based, embodied performances), but then this could be quite an endless endeavor... Perhaps something on the ways Wiener Aktionismus relates to the contemporary Viennese moment, politically, socially, economically (or how the gallery is now a totally dead space for political and social action, and how Wiener Aktionismus proposed potential alternatives in the gallery's moment of existential crisis). The work is all so important right now as there is an attention to trauma, war, and what images can be seen or what discussions can be had. If you are offended by a man drinking his own urine, but not by tens of thousands of children being bombed, mutilated, and crushed by tanks in occupied P--------, you may want to ask yourself why. We all should. I personally found an interesting tension between one stage of the work of Mühl and that of María Theresa Hincapié: similar topics are addressed, with somewhat similar goals, yet are executed in ways that contrast the masculine and feminine, as well as the western european and the South American. The museum does well in its overview of the core of the movement, but more information would be appreciated. Thank you all for your hard work!

Ich muss sagen, ich bin echt schockiert. Ich dachte, die Ausstellung wäre ein Thema unserer Zeit wie z. B. Spencer Tunick oder andere Aktionisten. Aber nein, es bezieht sich nur auf die 60er Exhibitionisten von Wien, gruselig 🫣. Ich glaub ich träum heute Nacht davon. Noch dazu ein Vergewaltiger, dessen Kunst man bejubelt? Hab die Vorgaben nicht richtig gelesen.Na, ich weiß nicht. Es passt nicht mehr. Damals war es vielleicht ein Befreiungsschlag . Heute fehlt die Leichtigkeit. Wo ist die Freude? Fürchterlich😒🙄😬

Wien hat es halt immer schon geschafft aus allem Kunst zu kreieren- das wird auch hier präsentiert. Die Bilder waren interessant und stimmig kuratiert- allerdings -wie so oft- ohne Beschreibung, ohne Text, ohne Hintergründe. Das beim Eintritt überreichte Begleitbüchlein war da leider nicht hilfreich. Sehr schade- denn ohne Erklärung des Warum?wird aus der Kunst somit lediglich eine Ansammlung von Grauslichkeiten.

Eindrücklich und spannendes aber auch schockierendes Museum. Bei unserem Besuch kam die Frage aus, wie weit Kunst gehen darf. Eine abschliessende Antwort kann es nicht geben, trotzdem zeigt dies eventuell wie weit dieses Museum geht.

Für Neugierige, Einsteiger und Kenner eine gute Adresse. Eine Vielzahl an Werken, übersichtlich plaziert, viele Informationen über eine wichtige Phase österreichischer Kunst.