The outcome of an artistic project with Lena Wicke-Aengenheyster
Behind the fictional matriarch MONSTERFRAU is the performance artist Lena Wicke-Aengenheyster, notorious amongst advanced performance audiences for her work together with God’s Entertainment and Gintersdorfer/Klaßen and also as the founder of the production network STAATSAFFAIRE.
Lena Wicke-Aengenheyster - So, you were asking me about STAATSAFFAIRE, right?
STAATSAFFAIRE is a tool for me to produce artistic projects. Financial, communication and public relation wise. Alonso Cedillo- Is it a collective? LWA- It is an official association, which is important to have to ask for fundings. It is also important to be clear about the official structure concerning questions like taxes etc. On the other hand, it is a platform for me. It gives me the possibility to produce, communicate and announce different kind of events and artistic projects. These can be shows by MONSTERFRAU, videos, texts, etc. but also a curated evening with many artists involved. The projects do not always have to be my proper artistic projects. I used STAATSAFFAIRE before to realize production wise artistic projects of other artists.
It is a network. A network of people I am working with in different ways. AC- How did it began?
LWA- It began the moment I was still part of the collective God's Entertainment. I realized my artistic ideas, interests, questions and needs within the projects of God's Entertainment. But I had a need for money and as I had worked for another theater company as production manager before, I had some knowledge other artists were interested in. They called me asking questions about how to do this or that. And so I had the idea to found a production platform. When I quit God's Entertainment, I started realizing my art through STAATSAFFAIRE as well.
AC- How many operas have you produced?
LWA- Hm, how many operas I have produced. It depends on which projects should be considered as an opera. I would say, that MONSTERFRAU has released two operas. The Underground Opera "BODY and CAPITALISM" in 2011 and "MONSTERFRAU against Marduk" in 2013. There were other projects and songs in between. And gigs of course.
MONSTERFRAU 06/2011, shot by Stephan Doleschal
AC-Do they have librettos?
Yes, they have librettos. The one of BODY and CAPITALISM you can find on https://sites.google.com/a/staatsaffaire.com/staatsaffaire/artists/lena-wicke-aengenheyster/monsterfrau/libretto
The librettos are one result. What means, I am not starting the artistic work by writing a libretto, it is the outcome of an artistic process. AC- However the existence of librettos means that anyone that hold them could restage them, right? LWA- Yes of course, anybody can restage them and is invited to do so. The librettos are a way to communicate the ideas, questions, reflexions. The story, the message and in the case of BODY and CAPITALISM also the shout and call. I think first of all Librettos are a tool. An interested audience, a spectator, people who are part of or who became part of an opera or MONSTERFRAU, can access the text and the idea of the opera in another mood. The libretto gives also an idea of a kind of dramaturgy, and questions like, is it a collage, puzzle or storyline we are dealing with. AC- Why do you decided to reaproach the idea of the opera, and also the libretto? LWA- When a band releases a CD with several songs, they publish some little booklet with where all songtexts are written. And even if we can hear the texts, it is interesting to read them. I made theater-performance before with a lot of life-music and sounds. Looking for a word to communicate the genre I was dealing with the terms of music-theatre and music-performance. There is a very huge classical music scene which is very well funded. This stands in contrast to the contemporary and electronic music scene which is nearly not funded at all. There are different audiences and facilities with totally different financial standards.
The classall opera is very high respected and seen as of very valuable. I liked to claim this term of a genre for the contemporary music/theater, music/performances.
And after all, I love operas.
Lena Wicke-Aengenheyster performing MONSTERFRAU against Marduk at donaufestival in Krems. ©ORF, Elstner.
AC- And has the classical scene received well you productions?
LWA- No, the fact that I produced an 'opera' did not change the funding I got. But that was not the aim either. The reflection of what values and the consideration and definition of something being valuable are about, are very important in "BODY and CAPITALISM" and leads to the question of sovereignty. AC- What other projects have you produced with staatsaffaire? LWA- 'MONSTERFRAU migrate.' is an installation consisting of 50 small MONSTERFRAU sculptures out of clay and porcelain. At the opening of the exhibition I am performing amongst them, as part of the track, sharing the MONSTERFRAU' idea.
THIS IS NOT A BURKA! Just clothes. was a 3 month performance in public space in Hamburg, Berlin, Linz and Vienna. I was wearing a so-called Burqa, Niqab and Khimar. Every day but Sunday in public space.
STAATSAFFAIRE is also involved in Learning Partnerships funded by the European Union with partners like salon bruit in Berlin in Germany - an experimental noise-music collective, gaffer records in Lyon in France - a label for jazz and experimental rockmusic and Stubnitz in Hamburg - a ship as a venue for music events.
We organize and develop workshops for people who are more far from culture and art to open up perspectives through electronic music and media.
STAATSAFFAIRE has also organized evening events where I invited other artists to produce and show around the topics 'Performance as Vision', 'On the Move - Migration' and a fashion show of different models of Burkas.
I like working for projects which seem important to me. Considering society as something which is always changing and evoluating (evolution), I like to influence this project, I like the idea to influence society and its history through my work.