INTERVIEW
WITH DANIELA AMBROSOLI
Roma, November 2009
When and how did
you come in contact with
Nitsch’s work and
why did you decide to
make a documentary about
it?
After casually meeting
his wife Rita I became
curious to know more about
Nitsch as a person. I started
my research on the net.
Reading his biography and
many other books, watching
the videos of his performances
and two documentaries made
about him by the Austrian
TV and listening to his
music shocked me to the
point that it was imperative
for me to dig deeper into
Nitsch’s personality
by means of shooting a
documentary. My experience
in the TV business were
a great help in the making
of this project.
Did you ever take part
in any of his performances?
Unluckily I never had the
chance since I didn’t
know the artist then.
What kind of man did
you make out of his perfomances?
A strong man but fragile
at the same time. An extraordinary
and original artist who
has carried out his vision
since the age of 19 uncaring
of the many obstacles he
encountered. His untiring
perseverance led him after
40 years to the realisation
of his O.M.T. (Theatre
of the Orgies and Mysteries).
Nitsch is a generous man
and he has always been
very supportive of our
project by opening the
doors to his castle and
to his soul for us.
How much time did it
take you to realize this documentary?
Please tell us about the various
phases of the work and how you
planned out the structure of
the movie.
The documentary was made
in 16 months, starting
in summer 2008 up until
the end of 2009. It was
shot in Austria at castle
Prinzendorf, in Vienna
and Graz, in Naples, Verona
and Asolo in Italy and
in Cluj, Romania.
I wrote the story based
first and foremost on Danielle
Spera’s biography
of Nitsch and on uncountable
books on the artist. The
movie aims to sincerely
portrait Hermann Nitsch’s
personality and it’s
built around various interviews
with the people that have
been with him on his artistic
and human journey. It started
in June 2008 with my first
visit to castle Prinzendorf,
the artist’s residence.
At that time I had the
opportunity to meet Beppe
Morra, president of the
Morra Foundation with his
assistant Teresa, Antonella
Barina, journalist for
the Italian newspaper La
Repubblica, well-known
art critic Achille Bonito-Oliva
and Paola Marino, press
agent of the Fondazione
Morra.
The first stage of the
shooting took place in
Naples in August 2008 during
the preparation of the
Hermann Nitsch Museum.
The second stage took place
during the official opening
of the Museum, in September
2008. The third stage took
place in Cluj, Romania,
where Nitsch was awarded
the Honorary Degree by
the University of Arts
and Design. The fourth
stage took place in October
2008 with a series of interviews
with the artist in his
castle at Prinzendorf and
in his native neighbourhood
of Jedlersdorf in Vienna,
Austria. The fifth stage
took place in May 2009
in Verona where we met
with long time friend and
collector of Nitsch’s
Francesco Conz and in Asolo
where we shot at the artist’s
house in Monfumo. The sixth
stage took place in May/June
2009 at castle Prinzendorf
during the Pentecost Party
and at the opening of the
56th Paint Action at the
Museumszentrum Mistelbach.
The seventh and last stage
took place in June 2009
at Viennese Actionist Günther
Brus’s house in Graz,
Austria.
The editing of the documentary
was done with great sensibility
by Johannes Nakajima between
the months of January and
November 2009.
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