Bayer, Konrad#
b. Vienna, Dec. 17, 1932, d. Vienna, Oct. 10, 1964 (suicide), avant-garde writer. Until 1957 bank employee, 1951 he joined the "Art-Club" which was the predecessor of the Wiener Gruppe. His performances with other members of the Art Club took the form of simultaneous readings, "literary revues" (1958/59) and theatre performances. His experimental literature aimed at dissolving language-inherent distortions ("es gibt nichts gemeinsames. nur die sprache schafft gemeinsamkeiten" - "we have nothing in common. language alone creates common ground") using serial text production, montage and word play. Afforded little appreciation in his lifetime, today he is counted among the forerunners of avant-garde writing after 1945.
Works#
Prose: starker toback, 1962 (with O. Wiener); der stein der weisen, 1963; montagen 1956, 1964 (with H. C. Artmann and G. Ruehm); Der Kopf des Vitus Bering, 1965; der sechste sinn, 1966 (ed by G. Ruehm). - Dramas: braeutigall & anonymphe, 1963; kinderoper, 1964; kasperl am elektrischen stuhl, 1968; der analfabet, 1969; die boxer, 1971; idiot, 1972. - Radio plays: der kopf des vitus bering, 1964; der berg, 1966; der schweissfuss, 1971. - Editions: Das Gesamtwerk, ed. by G. Ruehm, 1977; Saemtliche Werke, ed. by G. Ruehm, 2 vols., 1985; K. B., Theatertexte, ed. by G. Ruehm, 1992.Literature#
U. Janetzki, Alphabet und Welt. Ueber K. B., 1982; U. Janetzki and W. Ihrig (eds.), "Die Welt bin ich". Materialien zu K. B., in: protokolle 1983, vol. 1; F. Achleitner and P. Weibel (ed.), Wiener Gruppe, 1997; F. Achleitner and W. Fetz (ed.), Wiener Gruppe, exhibition catalogue, Kunsthalle Wien, 1998.