Günter Brus

Günter Brus’ contribution to the 1987 Luna Luna park was the Hand-Painted Universe of Crayons Pavilion Walk-Through Attraction

Günter Brus’s installation for Luna Luna was a hand-painted pavilion that takes viewers into an imaginary universe of crayons. The work featured a soundtrack of organ music composed by Brus’s friend and fellow Viennese Actionist, Hermann Nitsch.

Artist

Günter Brus

Attraction

Delyrium

Born

1938, Austria

Best known for the controversial actions he performed on his body in the 1960s

He was a pioneer of Wiener Aktionismus (“Viennese Actionism”), a radical artistic movement that began in 1962, in which a group of artists created shockingly violent performances that disregarded conventions and taboos

Was sentenced to a six-month prison sentence for his performance, Art and Revolution (1968)

Fairground view: Günter Brus, Delyrium. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987.

Fairground view: Günter Brus, Delyrium. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987.

Celebrated Austrian artist and notorious troublemaker Günter Brus is a pioneer of Wiener Aktionismus (“Viennese Actionism”). The group's deliberately shocking "actions" responded to the legacy of Nazi fascism in Austria and highlighted the violence of humanity. Alongside artists Hermann Nitsch, Otto Muehl, and Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Brus is known for ritualistic ceremonies in which nude protagonists performed numerous actions on their bodies.

Brus’s violent performances were considered an assault on mainstream society and frequently attracted the attention of Austrian authorities.

Günter Brus.
Günter Brus, Preparatory sketches for artworks exhibited in 1987.

Brus’s violent performances were considered an assault on mainstream society and frequently attracted the attention of Austrian authorities. After the 1970 performance, The Real Test, in which he performed self-harm and pushed his body to the point of exhaustion, Brus felt he had reached his body’s limits and abandoned live performance. Brus has since created paintings, drawings, experimental films, and artists’ books that continue his exploration of disgust, moral taboos, and sexuality.

Günter Brus, Delyrium. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987.

Günter Brus, Delyrium, exhibited 1987.

Brus’s installation for Luna Luna is a hand-painted pavilion that takes viewers into an imaginary universe of crayons. The outside of the installation resembles a fairytale castle with crayon towers, while the interior is filled with paintings depicting the birth and death of its imaginary half-human, half-crayon figures. The work featured a soundtrack of organ music composed by Brus’s friend and fellow Viennese Actionist Hermann Nitsch. 

Forgotten Fantasy

Los Angeles, CA
Closing May 12 Closing May 12

Thirty-six years ago, Luna Luna landed in Hamburg, Germany: the world’s first art amusement park with rides, games, and attractions by visionaries like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and David Hockney. By a twist of fate, the park’s treasures were soon sealed in 44 shipping containers and forgotten in Texas—until now.