english
introduction
exhibition
videoarchive
conference
artists
english
links

bertlmann - beruehrung

Renate Bertlmann: "Zärtliche Berührung" (1976). image copyright Renate Bertlmann

Renate Bertlmann (Austria * 1943)

The early work "Zärtliche Berührung" shows two latex pacifiers in contrasting colours: making tender love.

In this piece "Die schwangere Braut im Rollstuhl" performed in 1978 at Österreichischer Kunstverein, Vienna, the 'pregnant bride in the wheelchair' is pushed into the hall to the sound of a lullaby emanating from a musical box she wears around her neck. Once she is left in the hall, we hear the wailing of a baby. The pregnant woman eventually gives birth to a tape recorder emitting intense baby cries, which she leaves behind in the wheelchair - a female take on Beckettian drama.

After a brief spell in Oxford, Renate Berlmann studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1964 to 1970, followed by twelve years of teaching at the same academy. In her work, Bertlmann uses all kinds of media, from drawings, paintings, objects and installations through photographs, photo films and videos to performances and texts, in which she often examines the erotic and biological conditions of the female existence.

 

In the Video Archive:

"Zärtliche Berührung", 1976, 20:00min.
"Die Schwangere Braut im Rollstuhl", 1978, 20:00min.


Links:

Renate Bertlmann Website