Claudia Muehl

Workshop & Tallks:

• Carte blanche à Self-Expression - with Antonis Anissegos at the piano
• Panel Discussion
• in Bed with...

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Claudia Muehl

1950 Born in Aarau, Switzerland
1970 Received teachers certificate
1973 Studied psychology in Zurich and the Art Academy in Munich
1973 Joined the Friedrichshof Commune in Oe
1973-1992 training in spontanous portrayal and art with Otto Muehl
1975 Gave lectures about community life throughout Europe
1976-90 Role playing workshops for adults and children in Austria, France and Germany
1970 My first daughter was born
1979 Training in Milton Ericksons method in hypnotherapy
1980 Founding of a private school called „Gemeinschaftsbau“ for arts and project work. Same school received public status in 1983 in Oe. Administrated the school and did advanced training for teachers until the birth of my son
1985 My son was born
1986-89 Art therapy corporate consultant and trainer in various companies in Austria, Germany, and France
1989 My second daughter was born
1992-96 Lived in small community in Marseilles and Munich
1997-2010 Teaching German children in Portugal, Faro
2010 Moved to Vienna and engaged in paining and writing
2012 Moved to Berlin

Live musik at the piano with:
Antonis Anissegos - (1970) is active as a composer, pianist (interpreter of classical and contemporary music), improviser and electronic musician (alias “unu”) and is based in Berlin since 1998. Concerts in Europe, Asia & America.
He received his piano diploma in Thessaloniki (State Conservatory) in 1991. In the following years he studied in Budapest, Vienna, Cologne (diploma in composition), and he was a master student in composition in Berlin between 1998 and 2001, in the class of Walter Zimmermann (UdK). Anissegos is involved in many projects, among others the Ensemble European Music Project, Ensemble Junge Musik, Trio IAMA, the groups “Grix”, “Lynx”, “KAYA” (with butoh-dancer Yuko Kaseki), “ΣΩΜΑ”, “ddaA”, “best before unu” and “Card Castle”.
He collaborated with the video artist Erika Matsunami (OIO, 2005-2009), the dance ensemble “adLibdances” (2007-2011) and the Theater Thikwa.
Since summer 2006 he has been teaching Improvisation at the Music Village Workshop in Greece.
His solo, chamber, orchester and theatre music compositions have been performed among others by Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Mosaik, Ensemble Cornucopia, Ensemble Piandaemonium, Ensemble DissonArt, State Orchester of Thessaloniki, Colour Orchester of Athens and Youth Orchester of Thüringen. He appears mainly in concerts and in over 40 recordings in the field of contemporary creative music.
www.enstase.com

Claudia Muehl will take part in the common panel discussion on Friday evening and will be available for an intimate talk (in bed with...) on Saturday late afternoon.

Her workshop contribution to the label Carte blanche à... is:

Self-Expression

The method of self-expression was developed by Otto Muehl in collaboration with the members of the commune "Friedrichshof" during its founding after 1972. Up until 1990 it was constantly differentiated and varied.
I love the method of self-expression. What could not be expressed in every day life, I could shape into some form of art in the evening hours. To me, self-expression is an enjoyable way to claim authenticity for myself and to get the energy flowing. After the demise of Commune "Friedrichshof" I tried to reenact the method of self-expression on a small scale.

To this day, I developed my own style further and adjusted it to people who are not living together.
20 - 30 people sit in a half circle. Either a pianist (for background music), who is able to improvise, or fitting music should be provided. The performers go unprepared into the middle of the half circle. Every audience member can go into the middle and become a performer. The self-expression will be guided by me. It is my task to create a safe space where the performers can safely let go and even deeper layers of personality can be touched and expressed. Apart from a theoretical introduction that serves as an induction for trance, I will do self-expression from time to time to warm up the emotional mood.

To face an audience unprepared means to expose yourself to unpredictable emotions. To the performer, the audience is the same as what a canvas would be to a painter: The performer projects fears, expectations, wishes or anger onto the audience. The process of self-expression reflects ones own dispute with projections. But they are troublesome because they have no place in every day life, which means we have to keep silent about them. In self-expression, there is room for irrational things which can be expressed uncensored and therefore, be recognised.
Maybe the performer listens to her/himself and tries to bring out what is rising in her/his body through body posture and voice (through screaming, crying, etc.). Doing so, the performer frees him/herself from pressure and gets the energy flowing. This allows the performer to distance himself from his own anger, so he can express himself less serious and in a more humorous and enjoying way through dancing, singing or lyrics. If you show yourself the way you are, you will be loved. Authenticity is beautiful.

Photos: © unknown