WESTERN FRONT – Documents from the Theatre of the Actual

Description:

Documents from the Theatre of the Actual was Hermann Nitsch’s debut solo exhibition in North America, and featured an installation of photographs, paintings, and ephemera that indexed past performance works. While in Vancouver, Nitsch also staged an iteration of his Aktion performance series, Aktion 58, which involved the simulated mutilation of a nude body. The work was documented by Image Bank.

Curated by Michael Morris.

Hermann Nitsch stands in front of an installation of his photographs on the wall of Western Front’s gallery. He wears a blazer and vest over dark-wash pants. His hand is in a cast, and is elevated in a makeshift sling made from a string tied around his neck.

Four people peruse Hermann Nitsch’s exhibition at Western Front. Large-scale photographs are tiled directly onto the gallery wall, and a table with print ephemera is in the middle of the space.

Herman Nitsch and Robert Keziere stand in front of a photographic installation in Western Front’s gallery.

Hermann Nitsch stands in front of an installation of photographs on the wall of Western Front’s gallery. He wears a blazer and vest over dark-wash pants. His hand is in a cast, and is elevated in a makeshift sling with a string tied around his neck.

Monica Holden-Lawrence and Vincent Trasov stand in front of an abstract performance blood splatter by Hermann Nitsch.

Henry Greenhow and Hermann Nitsch stand in Western Front’s gallery in front of a mural of Nitsch’s photographs. Greenhow wears a grey sweater and blue jeans, and Nitsch is in a dark suit.

A male presenting person with short hair and glasses stands in front of a photographic installation by Hermann Nitsch that shows the ritual mutilation of a nude body.

Hermann Nitsch and Jane Ellison stand in front of a photographic installation documenting the ritual mutilation of a nude body.

Herman Nitsch smiles while standing in front of his photographic installation in Western Front’s gallery.

A group of people including Cornelia Wyngaarden, Herman Nitsch and Vincent Trasov stand in Western Front’s gallery, where a number of large-scale photos documenting the ritual mutilation of a nude body are tiled on the walls.

Henry Greenhow and Monica Holden-Lawrence stand in front of a wall splattered with fluids.

Vincent Trasov, Cornelia Wyngaarden, and Herman Nitsch stand in front of a photographic installation in the gallery.

Cornelia Wyngaarden and Jane Ellison stand close to each other while in conversation. Ellison flips a page of a large-scale photo book, and Wyngaarden holds a glass in her right hand. Behind them is a photo installation showing documentation of the ritual mutilation of a nude body.

Glenn Lewis sits at a table next to Hank Bull and rolls a cigarette. A mural of ten photographs are tiled on the wall behind them.

Related People

Michael Morris (Curator)

Related Events

1978

Aktion 58

Captions:

Hermann Nitsch at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Hermann Nitsch and Robert Keziere at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Hermann Nitsch and Vincent Trasov at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Hermann Nitsch at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Monica Holden-Lawrence, Vincent Trasov, and unidentified guest at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Henry Greenhow and Hermann Nitsch at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Hermann Nitsch and Jane Ellison at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Hermann Nitsch at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Henry Greenhow and Monica Holden-Lawrence at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Vincent Trasov, Cornelia Wyngaarden, and Herman Nitsch at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Cornelia Wyngaarden and Jane Ellison at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).
Hank Bull and Glenn Lewis at the opening reception of Hermann Nitsch: Documents from the Theatre of the Actual (1978).

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.