Klaus Boegel / Heiner Holtappels "Sinnesentzug & Atmung"

Sinnesentzug (1976): performance registration on video, b-w, 60 minutes

‘I [Holtappels] stay in a room without hearing or seeing for 72 hours, of which 48 hours are without speaking and 24 hours are in a straitjacket.’

Atmung, monochrome video recordings of five performances, of duration 15, 6, 30, 6 and 6 minutes respectively

Atmung 1: ‘I [Holtappels] lie for 5 minutes with two 40 kg sacks of plaster on my chest. I hang by my hands for 5 minutes. I hang by my feet for 5 minutes.’

Atmung 2: ‘I [Holtappels] lie on the ground for 2 minutes, shouting, with a 40 kg sack of plaster on my chest. I shout for 2 minutes while hanging by my hands. I shout for 2 minutes while hanging by my feet.’

Atmung 3: ‘I [Boegel] stand for 30 minutes in an airtight plastic bag of 2.2 m height and 0.6 m cross-section.’

Atmung 4: ‘I [Boegel] stand in an airtight plastic bag of 2.2 m height and 0.3 m cross-section until I faint.’

Atmung 5: ‘I [Boegel] strangle myself with a cloth for 3 minutes. I close my nostrils and breath through a cloth gag for 3 minutes.’

(From: Boegel & Holtappels. Untersuchungen. Aktionen 1975-1978, The Hague 1980, pp. 19, 21-25.)