What is an octopus doing in the pond in front of the Vienna Karlskirche?

In the middle of the reflecting pool in front of the Karlskirche, a larger-than-life octopus sculpture will swim from August 15. What does this have to do with Johann Strauss? The artist collective God's Entertainment has come up with "a poetic and provocative reinterpretation of Strauss' waltz," according to a press release. The art project will be opened on Friday evening with five commissioned works, which will be premiered by God's Entertainment and the Black Page Orchestra.

Opening OCT.opus 25: Tentacle Spectacle in Vienna

The inspiration for the project was Donna Haraway's "Tentacular Thinking," a model of thought about humans turning towards nature and the understanding that everything is interconnected. For the American cultural theorist, the octopus is a "symbol of non-hierarchical intelligence" - and just as the eight-legged creature can feel in many directions with its tentacles, so too is man connected to his environment.

In the spirit of Haraway, God's Entertainment sees "OCT.opus 25" as a social and artistic invitation: Together with the audience, they want to develop new "tentacles," "fine, perceptive feelers with which we attentively explore our environment," according to the Vienna anarcho-collective founded in 2006. At the reflecting fountain in Resselpark, music, performance, installation, and science are to meet in an animalistic setting. On the first evening, among others, Eva Reiter with "Dance of the Sirens," Matthias Kranebitter with "Rejoice in Life," and Super Nose & Co with "Octopus Dream" will be present.

Meeting Place and Sound Space

Until September 13, the location invites you to sound spaces and evening performances. From Sunday to Thursday, there is a sound installation for diving in, and on Fridays and Saturdays, the water becomes a concert stage, so to speak. On August 27, the octopus will transform for one evening into a "Restaurant of the Super Tongues" with multimedia artist Leone Contini. On August 21, writer Nava Ebrahimi and philosopher Fahim Amir will meet to "explore questions of speculative sensitivity and coexistence." Admission is free, but for some events, free tickets are required.

More about the program on the website

(APA/Red)

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