Art and the Religion of the Future - Bluatschwitz Black Box

With "Art and the Religion of the Future" Jürgen Kaizik and Ines Kratzmueller explore a phenomenon at the Marianne Kopatz Cultural Center in Bad Aussee!

The idea that God and nature are one and the same was the thought of Spinoza that gave the so-called Age of Enlightenment its revolutionary power. Key figures of that era shared it more or less openly: Lessing, Goethe, Hölderlin, Mozart, Wagner, Schiller, and many others. It allowed people to leave the worn-out paths of exhausted Christianity without being immediately labeled an atheist, which at that time was not only career-threatening but also life-threatening. Pantheism was overall more of a sense of community than a strict confession of faith, or even a religion.

Jürgen Kaizik and Ines Kratzmueller want to highlight two perspectives from the diversity of its manifestations that are closely related here. One comes from Barbara Frischmuth, who took a female/human standpoint, both in private conversation and in her books. Quite differently was Richard Wagner. His also revolutionary stance culminated in his attempt to found a new religion, with Bayreuth as the new Rome.

Interestingly, Barbara Frischmuth did not particularly like Wagner, which is not surprising. Wagner was very fascinated by the figure of Jesus and long thought about bringing him to life in an operatic character. Ultimately, however, it was Parsifal who was to breathe new strength and fresh spirit into faith. "For the beautiful is nothing but the beginning of the terrifying..."

The idea allows for an artistic conclusion of an unforgettable summer evening in the heart of Ausseerland.