Wordscapes is weaving poetry into the architecture of Pathos theatre in Munich to create an experience that transcends the traditional boundaries of a performance space, creating a flow, rhythm and content that mentally guides the audience through the space.

literaturseiten München
6.2023
„I want to share“
Die bildende Künstlerin Ella Ponizovsky Bergelson bringt Poesie auf die Wände des Pathos-Theaters
Von Katrin Diehl

Pathos Theatre Munich is located in a building that dates back to 1820 and was utilised as a weapon factory during World War I. Today, a vibrant cultural institution that has been a vital part of Munich's artistic landscape since its founding in 1982. The theatre is dedicated to fostering innovative, experimental, and socially engaged forms of theatre, dance, and performance art. It hosts a diverse range of productions, from avant-garde plays and contemporary dance performances to multimedia installations and political interventions. In addition to its regular season of performances, Pathos theatre also hosts workshops, lectures, and other events that promote dialogue and exchange between artists and audiences. As a hub of creativity and experimentation, it is a vital force in Munich's cultural scene and beyond.

Performance art and poetry are strongly connected in their shared commitment to exploring the borders of expression. Both forms seek to challenge traditional structures and push the limits within their respective mediums. Wordscapes is stretching the boundaries of language both by content and visually, by transforming the poetry of CAConrad, So mayer, Laurie Anderson and Lotta Thießen into compositions which are integrated into the walls, forming a new surrounding. The project treats their words as visual elements rather than as merely conveyors of meaning. The technique involves manipulating the text to communicate complex ideas and emotions. Through the dynamic interaction of the letters and words that refuse to align in strict verticality, they eschew linear structures and reject binary perception while preserving readability. Analogous to the medium of poetry, it can be a powerful tool for subverting traditional notions of language and communication, challenging the viewer to look at words in a new and unexpected way. By using poetry as a visual, Wordscapes creates a dynamic relationship between the text and the reader, engaging them in a multi-sensory encounter that goes beyond the traditional conventions of literature and challenges the status quo.

The initial instalment of the mural series can be found on the exterior wall near the entrance, featuring a text by So Mayer that eloquently captures the inspiration behind the creative process.

So Mayer is a writer‭, ‬bookseller‭, ‬organiser and film curator‭, ‬currently based in London‭, ‬UK‭. ‬They write poetry‭, ‬fiction‭, ‬essays‭ ‬on film and culture‭, ‬and creative non-fiction‭, ‬often at the same time and in a single piece‭. ‬

CAConrad has worked with the ancient technologies of poetry and ritual since 1975‭. ‬ Their poems ‬reach out from a‭ ‬‭(‬Soma)tic poetry ritual in which Conrad flooded their body with the field recordings of recently extinct animals‭. ‬Foundational here is the effort to arrive at a new way of falling in love with the world as it is‭, ‬not as it was‭. ‬

Laurie Anderson is an American avant-garde artist‭, ‬composer‭, ‬musician‭, ‬and film director whose work spans performance art‭, ‬pop music‭, ‬and multimedia projects‭. ‬Anderson pursues a variety of performance art projects‭, ‬focusing particularly on language‭, ‬technology‭, ‬and visual imagery‭.‬

Lotta Thießen is a poet and translator living in Berlin‭. ‬She co-organizes the reading and translation series artiCHOKE‭, ‬and edits the internationalist feminist zine Vírgulentxs‭. ‬Her chapbook Fragments of Baby was published in 2019‭.‬