Dominik Steiger (writer)

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Dominik Steiger, LETTERFALL, approx. 1989, marker and opaque white on b / w photography

Dominik Steiger (born October 18, 1940 in Vienna ; † January 12, 2014 there ) was an Austrian writer and artist from the environment of the Vienna Group and Viennese Actionism . With his works he has been one of the most important representatives of the Austrian avant-garde since the 1950s.

life and work

After graduating from high school and abandoning his studies in political science and Slavic studies, Dominik Steiger joined the Légion etrangère on Silvester 1958/59 , from which he was released early after 15 months. The early contact with the lyricist Hermann Schürrer , and even more the intensive exchange from the 1960s with the members of the Viennese group - HC Artmann , Gerhard Rühm , Konrad Bayer and Oswald Wiener - gave impetus to Steiger's early literary work as well as his later artistic creation. Above all, his friendship with the Swiss poet and artist Dieter Roth , whom he met in Vienna in 1966, became decisive for his work. Extensive travels took him to France, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India in the early 1960s.

After the first self-published poems (from 1961) and in the Austrian cultural journal Neue Wegen (1962–1964), international success quickly followed: The prose volume “The Improved Great Socialist October Revolution” (1967) was published by Rainer Verlag in Berlin and die by Suhrkamp Verlag Stories “Wunderpost für Co-Piloten” (1968) and “Horn Jolly drives an electric car” (1969). The critic Siegfried Schober on this in the weekly newspaper Die Zeit : "Steiger is a lightning-smart, smart, ludicrous, also childlike, eccentric, melancholy and sometimes not a little evil and insidious linguist, grammar trainer and style acrobat." Steiger subsequently also published articles regularly, as in that of Günter Brus issued artist magazine "the Schastrommel. Organ of the Austrian government in exile ”, in the“ Zeitschrift für Alles ”by Dieter Roth or in the Hundertmark Edition . Buchdienst Fesch , founded in 1975 by Steiger, published his short-lived magazine NERVENKRITIK with contributions from artists such as Christian Ludwig Attersee , Konrad Bayer , Günter Brus, Urs Lüthi , Hermann Nitsch , Walter Pichler , Arnulf Rainer , Dieter Roth, and his own works and artist books Oswald Wiener .

His prose work, which Steiger continued until his last publication “spuk und geflunker” (2014), accompanied visual art works from the 1970s. A decisive factor in this was the meeting with Joseph Beuys , who stayed with him in 1971 while he was in Vienna. At the founding meeting of the Graz authors' meeting in October 1973, Dominik Steiger presented a transition from written characters to drawing with his “Knöchelchen drawings”. "You had followed a dissection phase in my writing at a point where the paperwork hit my bones." Günter Brus dedicated a special issue of the “Schastrommel” (1974) to these cipher-like miniatures with the “stamp character” under the title “Biometric Texts” . In the Basler Nachrichten, Peter Weibel wrote about this: "To look for what has been repressed by language and writing in his tracks [...] initiates a renewed, more total communication". In 1977, Steiger and Brus started a collaboration called “Every Wednesday. Ein Zwoman ”was published: within a year, the artists exchanged half-page drawings every Wednesday between Vienna and Berlin, each of which was supplemented by the other.

Joint work and quasi-actionist ventures with artist friends can be found numerous in Steiger's work. In 1965 he made the short film "das Kind", in which he was dressed as a child and had Oswald Wiener filmed him. In the same costume Steiger in 1967 took over as "FNUFI" on the materially from Otto Muehl designed "ZOCK" -Fest the Vienna Inn Green Gate in part, in the 1966-initiated "Actions Concert for Al Hansen " in the Galerie St. Stephan he was appeared, also in “Rarely Heard Music. The Berlin Concert ”(1974) together with Christian Ludwig Attersee , Günter Brus , Hermann Nitsch , Arnulf Rainer , Dieter Roth , Gerhard Rühm and Oswald Wiener. In the mural “Allerweltsbild” (1982–1985) in the station buffet in Basel, suggested by Dieter Roth, not only Dieter Roth himself but also his son Björn, André Thomkins , Ömar Stefansson and, in particular, Dominik Steiger.

Dominik Steiger, drawing from the series “Knöchelchen”, 1973, pencil on paper

Despite his closeness to protagonists of Viennese Actionism , Steiger never allowed himself to be captured by any movement. His artistic strategy was playful networking, characterized by childish anarchy and caricaturing arrogance. In 1968 he founded the Mickey Mouse Club “Flakturm”, which included the Viennese artist Heinz Frank (* 1939), the poet Reinhard Priessnitz and the legendary gallery owner Kurt Kalb (* 1935).

Steiger began his pictorial work with pencil and ink and pen drawings; the "Knöchelchen" found their enlarged continuation in 1975 in the series of drawings "WARS DENEN?" and "Dieter Roth's Sea of ​​Tears 4b reached out". More figurative then are the complex and narrative dense compositions of the "Small Watercolors" in the 1970s. The series “Exzerptmarterln” followed around 1980: closely described and drawn sheets of pseudoscientific character. In his prints, inspired by Dieter Roth , Steiger used not only etching, but also methods he had thought up himself: he transferred the color in the "scroll paintings" using parcel handles, shipping rolls or rolling pins.

Dominik Steiger, from the series “Kulturcollagen”, approx. 1999, collage on postcard

Found materials are used from the beginning: in early, strongly conceptual works such as "Cycle Economic Literature" (1965), for example, B. Forms for postal checks declared a literary readymade , cut up, reassembled and overdrawn in the series "Autographe Bene" from the 80 years of historical autographs of famous personalities. Similar to the series “Brand Pictures”, which consists of overpainted sheets of old stamp albums. In the 1990s, too, Dominik Steiger expanded and changed the techniques of collage and assemblage that are typical for him: for the “conversation graphics” cycle, he uses sticky tape to transfer excerpts from maps, lexicons, books, etc. onto the image surface, adding his own graphic and painterly images To relate traces, similar to the procedure in the "culture collages". The works in the “Bois” series are assemblages made from scraps of wood from a joinery. The title “bois” (French wood), which also suggests “boys” and Beuys, shows the language player's passion for shifting levels and content. Many of these three-dimensional objects have additional inscriptions, so-called "letter cases", a modification of the classic acrostic imagined by Steiger . From 2005 the work groups "Bottle Multiples" and "Art Complete" were created.

Steiger was also creative in the field of music that was so important to him: in 1971 he took part in “Experimenta 4” in Frankfurt with the radio play “Ultramundane Melodie”, an improvisation with a singing or speaking voice and radio recording. In 1979, Dieter Roth's Verlag published the long-playing record "Wiener Lieder und Mischte Weisen" (Viennese songs and mixed wise men) with compositions that Steiger had devised, sung and played. This was followed by the music cassettes "31 songs with music in German, English, French, free-language, Greek, Spanish, Viennese" (1980), "It sings and plays Zupfgeigenhansl's great-nephew Dominik Steiger very own songs" (1982), published by Buchdienst Fesch . and “Zibeben in den Reis” (1984). In 2013, Tochnit Aleph released a long-playing record entitled “AD HOC MUSI”, which brings together a selection of these songs from the 1980s. Steiger continued the above-mentioned participation in artistic campaigns and concerts such as “Rarely Heard Music” in 1974, for example in events by Christian Ludwig Attersee such as the matinee “Malermusik und Malerssprache” (1984) in the Museum of the 20th Century in Vienna or the multimedia evening “Attersee and his friends - reckless entertainment” as part of “ Ars Electronica ” (1986) in the Brucknerhaus in Linz .

The readings were also numerous: from an ad hoc reading together with HC Artmann and Otto Jägersberg as part of the so-called Provo-Fest during the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1967 to Steiger's last appearance in August 2012, a spoken word performance as part of the event series " Ephemeropterae˜ X / XV + “at Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) - Augarten in Vienna.

Publications

  • TURN. Self-published, Vienna 1961.
  • there are two graces in breathing. Publishing house for foreign language literature, Peking [di Selbstverlag, Vienna] 1965.
  • The improved Great October Socialist Revolution. A commemorative publication with pictures by Walter Zimbrich . Published on the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Rainer Verlag, Berlin 1967.
  • Wonder mail for co-pilots. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1968.
  • Honking Jolly drives electric car. New Wunderpost with 15 snapshots. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1969.
  • as editor: Eighty-four Austrian storytellers. March publishing house, Frankfurt am Main 1970.
  • Idioidic letter tailcoat. Edizioni Pari & Dispari (in contract with Francesco Conz, Bozen), Reggio Emilia 1974.
  • Libretto of self-application to idiotic letter tailcoat. Edizioni Pari & Dispari (in connection with Francesco Conz, Bozen), Reggio Emilia 1974.
  • Biometric texts 1–147. 1972-1973. In: Günter Brus (Ed.): The Schastrommel. Organ of the Austrian government in exile No. 12. Edition Hansjörg Mayer, Stuttgart / London / Reykjavík / Bolzano [di Berlin], August 1974.
  • Buchdienst Fesch (ed.): NERVENKRITIK. No. 1, Volume 1, January 1976, Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna 1976. With text and images by Christian Ludwig Attersee, Konrad Bayer, Günter Brus, Arnulf Rainer, Dieter Roth, Hans’s sister, Dominik Steiger, Kurtio Vitello
  • Buchdienst Fesch (ed.): NERVENKRITIK. No. 2, Vol. 1, April 1976, Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna 1976. With text and images by Oswald Wiener, Dieter Roth, Walter Pichler, Dominik Steiger, Arnulf Rainer, Dieter Roth
  • Buchdienst Fesch (ed.): NERVENKRITIK. No. 3, vol. 1, August 1976, Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna 1976. With text and images by Günter Brus, Hermann Nitsch
  • Buchdienst Fesch (ed.): NERVENKRITIK. No. 4, vol. 1, November 1976, Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna 1976. With text and pictures by Dieter Roth, Robert Walser, Hans Peter Bühler, Urs Lüthi, Dominik Steiger, Arnulf Rainer, Dieter Roth
  • Berlin 'Nervenkritik', special edition 1. Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna / Edition Hundertmark, Berlin, 1976.
  • The improved Great October Socialist Revolution (1967) , Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna / Galerie Krinzinger, Innsbruck 1976.
  • with Günter Brus: Every Wednesday. A Zwoman . 49th cardboard box, 3rd book, Edition Hundertmark, Berlin 1977.
  • My Fortdeutsch-Heimdeutscher Radau (Tragelaph's I. Part). 54th cardboard box, 5th book, Edition Hundertmark, Berlin 1978.
  • SENZA TANTO GEDICHTE (1975), Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna / Seedorn Verlag, Zurich 1979.
  • Amateur problems of reflection on life (Tragelaph's 2nd Parater) , continuation of Mein fortdeutsch-heimdeutscher Radau (Tragelaph's 1st Part) , Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna / Seedorn Verlag, Zurich 1980.
  • 7 etchings , portfolio edition, Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna 1981.
  • About my bone drawings. In: Otto Breicha (Ed.): Protocols '82 / 3. Journal of Literature and Art. Volume 3, born in 1982, Jugend und Volk, Vienna / Munich 1982, pp. 221–246. On the occasion of the solo exhibition in the Kulturhaus Graz also published as a separate print run, in collaboration with Buchdienst Fesch, Vienna.
  • ZELL FESCH , Book Service Fesch, Vienna / Seedorn Verlag, Zurich 1984.
  • LETTERFALLS BOIS. Typografica, Paris 1989.
  • RUPERT'S IRREGULAR FOLDER. ed. as the 14th portfolio edition with original graphics from the Salzburg Regional Collections Rupertinum, Salzburg 1989.
  • Idylls, bagatelles, Mehrchen, Nimmermehrchen, Iduart u. Letterspeck, photos: Max in the war, bissl life (see there). In: Otto Breicha (Ed.): Protocols '89 / 1. Journal of Literature and Art. Volume 1, born in 1989, Jugend und Volk, Vienna / Munich 1989, pp. 97–112. Also published as a separate production run.
  • Flip book. HOMMEDELETTRE / HOMMEDÉLIRE. Facsimile of a schizoid sketchbook , Mavo Art Transfer, Vienna 1990.
  • LETTERFALLS BOIS. Typografica, Paris 1991.
  • Suspension of work. Buchdienst Fesch - Daydream Workers Party, Vienna 1993.
  • Standard letter cases in transparent sleeves. museum in progress, Vienna 1993.
  • THINGUMMY. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz / Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-85420-372-1 .
  • SENSE GUMMIS À LA MINUTE. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz / Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-85420-444-2 .
  • DOMINIK STEIGER / 60 YEARS / TISCH TRAUM A. Exhibition cat., Galerie Hohenlohe & Kalb, Vienna, Book Service Fesch - Daydream Workers Party , Vienna 2000.
  • decrease by i every minute. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz / Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85420-560-0 .
  • ABRA PALAVRA. see a rubber - all min udders. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz / Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-85420-669-0 .
  • mon dieu it haunts. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz / Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-85420-724-5 .
  • spooky & rumored. Ritter Verlag, Klagenfurt / Graz 2014, ISBN 978-3-85415-500-3 .

Exhibitions

  • 1975: “1 2 3 Exhibition”, Grünangergasse Gallery (Kurt Kalb), Vienna; “Every Wednesday. Brus-Steiger-Zwomanuscriptausstellung ”, Galerie Grünangergasse (Kurt Kalb), Vienna
  • 1976: "Dominik Steiger - Nervenkribbel", Krinzinger Gallery, Innsbruck
  • 1977: “Dominik Steiger. Drawings, Books and the Kotfisch ”, Galerie Renate Faßbender, Munich
  • 1979: “oculis verbis fidibusque”, Galerie Stähli, Zurich
  • 1980: “Dominik Steiger's training. Autodidackel ”, bookstore on Hafnersteig, Vienna
  • 1981: "FESCHETCHINGS BY DS", Gallerí Gangur / The Corridor, Reykjavík
  • 1982: "Pictures, drawings, graphics, books, music by Dominik Steiger", Kulturhaus Graz (as part of "steirischer herbst '82"), Graz
  • 1984: “Dominik Steiger. Watercolors, etchings, commercial graphics, rags, books and music 1984 ”, Galerie Zell am See, Zell am See; "Walk in - mister a sparrow is wrong. André Thomkins / Dominik Steiger ”, Brigitta Rosenberg Gallery, Zurich
  • 1985: "Dominik Steiger: BUchDIenST fesch", Armin Hundertmark Gallery, Cologne; “Fescher Prometheuys with Wiener Wurstelkraft”, Georg Fritsch Antiquariat & Buchhandel, Vienna
  • 1986: “miniatout renn”, Heike Curtze Gallery, Vienna; “Dominik Steiger. Languaschen, kingdoms long washed and… ”, Galerie Zell am See, Zell am See
  • 1987: "Gerhard Rühm and Dominik Steiger - Drawings and Joint Works", Oskar Schmidt Collection / Vienna, Palais Kinsky, Vienna
  • 1988: “Gerhard Rühm. Dominik Steiger ”, Brigitta Rosenberg Gallery, Zurich; “Dominik Steiger. Lots of studio. Works on paper 1973–1988 ”, Museum der Moderne Salzburg Rupertinum, Salzburg
  • 1989: “Structure II (Revisited)”, Julius Hummel Gallery, Vienna; “Dominik Steiger. EIGHT EIGHT “, Heike Curtze Gallery, Düsseldorf, further exhibition station: Zell am See Gallery, Zell am See; “Dominik Steiger. BONTEMPI REVISITED ”, Menotti Gallery, Baden near Vienna
  • 1989–1990: "Dominik Steiger: LETTERFAELLIG, BOIS, HERVORMANN", Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich
  • 1990: "Dominik Steiger: GEIST HAUT GOÛT", Heike Curtze Gallery, Vienna
  • 1991: "Once I pull / And sometimes gently back / Wie'n Sur ich", Galerie Brigitta Rosenberg, Zurich
  • 1992: “A lot of studio and a bit of wood by Dominik Steiger, music by Bernard Bernatzik. Oskar Josef Schmidt Collection ”, Palais Kinsky, Vienna
  • 1993: "Marie Maridl Mariechen and I", Gallery Zell am See, Zell am See; “Dominik Steiger: LETTERFAELLE BOIS - LOOK IF PLATES ARE MISSING”, Heike Curtze Gallery, Vienna, further exhibition station: Raymond Bollag Gallery 2, Zurich
  • 1994: “Dominik Steiger. Contributions to a day dream economy - ongoing production 1993–94 ”, Galerie Zell am See, Zell am See
  • 1995: “Atelier Thingummy”, Heike Curtze Gallery, Vienna; “Dominik Steiger. Buchdienst Fesch - Daydream Workers Party ”, Galerie Stadtpark, Krems
  • 1997: “Dominik Steiger. difficulté ahead ”, Kornfeld Gallery, Zurich
  • 1997–1998: “Dominik Steiger”, Julius Hummel Gallery, Vienna
  • 1998: "DOMINIK STEIGER REVISITED", Julius Hummel Gallery, Vienna
  • 2000: "Dominik Steiger / 60 years / Tisch Traum a", Galerie Hohenlohe & Kalb, Vienna
  • 2003: “Dominik Steiger. Daydream Work “, Gallery & Edition Marlene Frei, Zurich
  • 2004: "Anselm Glück / Dominik Steiger", gallery kunsthaus muerz, Mürzzuschlag
  • 2005: "dominik steiger <66–99>", Hohenlohe & Kalb Gallery, Vienna
  • 2008: “Dominik Steiger. Kosmöschen Steiger ”, exhibition and symposium, Galerie Hohenlohe, Vienna; “Dominik Steiger”, Ortner 2 / Judith Ortner, Vienna
  • 2009: “Unseen by Heinz Frank…” (sic) by Dominik Steiger, Galerie Wolfrum, Vienna
  • 2011: "Dominik Steiger: Art Complete", Gallery & Edition Marlene Frei, Zurich
  • 2013: “Dominik Steiger. Ad Hoc Musi 1980–84 “, Rumpsti Pumsti, Berlin
  • 2014–2015: “Dominik Steiger. Retrospective “, Kunsthalle Krems, Krems
  • 2017: "image / reads / text." curated by_ Abaseh Mirvali, Charim Gallery, Vienna; "Type, please." curated by_ Sabine Folie, Galerie Raum mit Licht, Vienna
  • 2018: "Günter Brus. Unrest after the storm", in the context of this exhibition also: Dominik Steiger / Günter Brus; Belverdere 21, Vienna

Awards

literature

  • Hans-Peter Wipplinger (Ed.): Dominik Steiger. Retrospective. Exhibition cat. Kunsthalle Krems, concept: Susanne Längle, Hans-Peter Wipplinger. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2014, ISBN 978-3-901261-59-6 .
  • Thomas Eder (Ed.): Kosmöschen Steiger. Ritter Verlag, Klagenfurt / Graz 2014, ISBN 978-3-85415-515-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dominik Steiger. In: Kürschner's German Literature Calendar 2014/2015. Volume II: PZ. Walter De Gruyter, 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-033720-4 , p. 1022.
  2. ^ Kunsthalle Krems from January 13, 2014: Visual artist and writer Dominik Steiger died. (accessed on October 22, 2014)
  3. ↑ Hans-Peter Wipplinger (Ed.): Dominik Steiger. Retrospective . Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-86335-672-9 .
  4. ↑ Siegfried Schober: wonder mail for co-pilots . In: The time . Hamburg April 4th 1969.
  5. ↑ Dominik Steiger: About my bone drawings. In: Otto Breicha (Hrsg.): Journal for literature and art . tape 3 . Jugend und Volk, Vienna / Munich 1982, p. 221 .
  6. ↑ Susanne Längle: Dominik Steiger. Retrospective, exhibition cat. Kunsthalle Krems . Ed .: Hans-Peter Wipplinger. Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-86335-672-9 , p. 401 .
  7. ↑ Peter Weibel: Biometric texts by Dominik Steiger . In: Basler Nachrichten . tape 76 , 1974, pp. 38 .
  8. ↑ In 2013 a digitized version of the short film was released under the title "Dominik Steiger als Kind" on the Berlin label Tochnit Aleph.
personal data
SURNAME Steiger, Dominik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian author and visual artist
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 2014
Place of death Vienna