Johann Muschik
Johann Muschik (born August 20, 1911 in Vienna ; † October 2, 1979 there ) was an influential Austrian art critic in the first decades after 1945 and coined the term Vienna School of Fantastic Realism for this art historical trend.
Muschik, who came from a humble background, was an ambitious and self-taught self-taught man who acquired a wide range of knowledge as a young man and was friends with Otto Basil , among others . During the Second World War and immediately after the war, he worked as a radio operator (among others at Radio Austria). Muschik began his journalistic activities within the framework of the Vienna Diary founded and financed by the KPÖ . Muschik's influential coining of words therefore also tried to claim the predicate of realism required in the art doctrine of Stalinism and a classification for the group of painters who worked with old master technique ( Arik Brauer , Ernst Fuchs , Rudolf Hausner , Wolfgang Hutter , Anton Lehmden ) in Surrealism, which is officially rejected for political reasons . Muschik broke away from the KPÖ after the Hungarian popular uprising in 1956 and subsequently wrote mainly in the Kurier , but the happily chosen term remained as a trademark of the painter group and achieved great popularity in the 1970s.
By the way, Muschik was a serious, downright tragically shrouded person, whose triumphant demeanor and manic eloquence were evidently the result of inner insecurity. At a young age he attempted suicide (leaping the window) allegedly because he was desperate to bring about the “great Austrian novel” he was striving for. What is striking is the change in his style from the early, opulently formulated essays to the extremely concise, telegram-style formulations of his later texts.
Muschik was awarded the title of professor and he was given an honorary grave of the City of Vienna in the Vienna Central Cemetery (group 40, number 134).
Works (selection)
- Austrian sculpture since 1945 , Vienna 1966
- Alfred Hrdlicka. Three Cycles , Vienna 1968
- The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism Munich 1974
Web links
- Literature by and about Johann Muschik in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Muschik, Johann |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian art critic of the 1950s |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 20, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd October 1979 |
| Place of death | Vienna |