Viennese Actionism was an avant-garde art movement that took place during the 1960s-1970s in Vienna, Austria. The movement was mainly comprised of the artists Günter Brus, Otto Mühl, Hermann Nitsch, and Rudolf Schwarzkogler. During this time these artists would also collaborate with with Anni Brus, Heinz Cibulka and Valerie Export. Brus, Mühl, Nitsch, Schwarzkogler and others would be referred to as Actionists and their work would be referred to as actions. Contrary to being called artists and having work referred to as artwork, it feels like a break away from technical terms and to go against the norm.
Viennese Actionism is an intentionally transgressive art form, including graphic nudity, violence, and the tackling of taboos. throughout the movements short-lived life lots of shocking performances, films, and art pieces were created. Due to the often graphic and extreme nature of their live performances Brus, Mühl and Nitsch have all ended up spending small prison sentences ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months for violation of decency laws. Brus, Mühl, Nitsch and Schwarzkogler did these live performances to shock the Austrian public and government which was at the time