steirischer herbst Research Fellowship Lecture
Eike Wittrock
Travestie in Graz, 1973–1983
Georgette Dee & Terry Truck, Travestie Inkognito, Chansons, steirischer herbst 1983, Herbstpark 1983, photo: steirischer herbst Archiv / Philipp
In his research on Travesty in Graz, 1973–1983, Eike Wittrock examines the theatrical play with gender images, both in artistic works and theoretical publications of steirischer herbst as well as in the queer subculture of Graz. Which utopias were articulated with these body experiments, and where did they come up against political and aesthetic limits? Between 1973 and 1983, these questions were raised in Graz in very different places: for example, in the exhibition and catalog Körpersprache/Bodylanguage (1973), the 5th Grazer Filmtage, Frauensprache–Männersprache (1977), or Georgette Dee’s Travestie incognito (1983), but of course also in travesty shows at the Braun Bar or the Club Café Werner.
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Eike Wittrock is a theater and dance scholar as well as a dramaturge and curator. He presents his research on the historiography of European stage dance, the politics of the archive, and queer and exoticist performances in both scholarly and artistic contexts. Together with Anna Wagner, he is the initiator of the Julius-Hans-Spiegel-Zentrum, an artistic research project on exoticisms in modern dance. He was also cocurator of the Kampnagel International Summer Festival from 2013–2016, jury member of Tanzplattform 2016, and curatorial advisor of Tanzkongress 2019. He is currently working on a history of queer performance and theater in the German-speaking world. Since 2020 he is senior scientist at the Center for Gender Studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz.
12.10.22, 17:00
In German
Palais Attems (styriarte.STUDIO)
Sackstraße 17
8010 Graz