Friday, 10. February 2012

:: Home > Panorama > Swingers' club at Vienna's Secession causes controversy

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	31	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	1	2	3	4

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

24. 02. 10. - 12:00

Swingers' club at Vienna's Secession causes controversy

A project by Swiss artist Christoph B�chel at Vienna�s "Secession" has caused widespread controversy.

The project features a club in the building�s basement called "Element6" that the media have labelled a "swingers� club," and a number of politicians have objected to it.

Club organisers, however, have said that "we usually avoid use of the term �swingers� club� since it does not correspond with our concept."

B�chel has said that he wants to cause as much artistic controversy as occurred after Austrian artist Gustav Klimt painted the Beethoven frieze at the Secession shortly after it was built in 1898.

Vienna�s Social Democratic (SP�) Mayor Michael H�upl said: "Naturally, the idea (of a swingers� club) does not please me. I am not responsible for swingers� clubs and am in no way interested in them."

He hastened to add, however, that the city government would not cut its subsidy for the Secession since it was an internationally recognised cultural institution. "An artist needs provocation," he said.

Right-wing Freedom Party (FP�) leader Heinz-Christian Strache said: "The City Hall SP� must have flipped its lid if it has provided 90,000 Euros for the installation of a project reflecting the sweaty fantasies of a Swiss �artist� featuring public group sex."

The media have reported that it cost 90,000 Euros to prepare for the project at the Secession.

Vienna FP� provincial MP Gerald Ebinger said: "Gang-bang parties have nothing to do with art and culture and should not be publicly supported."

He added that misuse of "the freedom of art" would diminish the importance of Austria as a land of culture and Vienna as a city of culture.

The People�s Party�s (�VP) Ursula Stenzel, who heads the first district or inner city�s administration, said there had been no talk of a group-sex event when the project had been discussed and the first district would not provide any financial support for it.

Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZ�) official Rainer Widmann said his party opposed "exchanges of sexual partners" as "a cultural concept."

The Vienna Secession movement, also known as the Union of Austrian Artists, was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists to be able freely to pursue their own vision of art. Klimt was one of those who seceded from the Association.

Architect Josef Maria Olbrich designed the Secession building that became the group�s headquarters and a venue for its exhibitions.

Austrian Times

Write your comment to this article here

Tag cloud:
artist culture Freedom cultural swingers Euros concept chel Austrian controversy administration Klimt event Vienna Secession media Swiss Artists club financial

Latest News

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

P�hringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SP�) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef P�hringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FP� under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FP�) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria�s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SP� sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SP�) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week�s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Sch�nbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe�s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Sch�nbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.