EARLY BIRD PRICE: €350 until 30 September 2024
REGULAR FEE: €395
There is kitchen available in the space and we aim to organise lunch, coffee and tea. Price does NOT include travel and accommodation costs, but we try to connect participants to share accommodation costs.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 23 October 2024
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, meaning that studies may fill up before the closing date.

Maximum 12 participants

10 November 2024: official start 10:00 until 17:00, at Salon am Moritzplatz (Oranienstrasse 58, 10969 Berlin)
10 – 14 November 2024: practical studies and research (10:00 – 18:00)
15 November 2024: public presentation at Salon am Moritzplatz
16 November 2024: reflection, brunch and closing day, departure (15:00)

Visit our Library to take a closer look at our previous Studies documented in a process publication.

• pedagogical, artistic and technical guidance of experienced artist and performance art professor BBB Johannes Deimling with assitance of visual artist Monika Deimling
• exploring performance art through a variety of unique performative exercises, experiments, games and assignments
• collaborating with other like-minded people with different experiences, backgrounds and nationalities
• program adjusted to the group dynamics and individual needs
• contacts with artists, curators and art institutions
• final public presentation at Salon am Moritzplatz, Berlin, Germany
• photo documentation by Monika Deimling and video documentation of the final presentation
• process publication, documenting the whole research study including the public performances
• tons of inspiration, practical and theoretical knowledge, new experiences
• and many more that is dependent on your engagement

It seems to be mainly artists, or perhaps scientists, who feel comfortable in a state of absurdity: Being extremely unreasonable, senseless or so unreasonable as to be irrational or not taken seriously are states that artists know well enough. For others, absurd states would primarily cause embarrassment or an unpleasant feeling. And yes, that is understandable – even if it is not.

Allowing absurd moments and situations to happen is not always an enjoyable state, because they are outside the norm and outside how we would like life to be. They lead to a clash of viewpoints and opinions and bump into scientific facts. The absurd is often linked to the paradox that creates this kind of non-sense, where reality is bent to the limits of acceptability. But the absurd is always real because it exists in our lives as part of our social interactions, our behaviour and our various concepts of life.

The absurd has been important to many art movements such as Dadaism, Surrealism, FLUXUS and many others. The reason for this is not only provocation but above all the search for an understanding of our existence outside of rationality. In art, logic, and rationality are not always of any help. Logic often blocks access to another universe in which other parameters are relevant, parameters that are no less important for life than rational ones. In mathematics, for example, 1+1 equals 2, but in art, 1+1 can equal 7 or sometimes 1. This means that the sun is not always yellow and the sea is not always blue, that life is not what we want it to be, and that the absurd lurks around the next corner. The absurd is often used as a tool to get closer to the reality of our existence, similar to what we can observe in philosophy.

Often linked to humor and/or poetry, absurdity is not always dramatic or tragic. Humor and poetry build bridges to explore the absurd, they can be a compass to manoeuvre through its complex structure. And this is exactly the starting point of the research, where we want to jump into the absurd universe and find solutions on how to use the absurd as a creative and constructive tool in performance art.

With PAS | 91 we aim to dive into the ocean of the absurd and explore its structure, its essence, and its potential for the process of creating.  We offer a practical, in-depth dialogue with the practice of performance art in relation to questions of the research theme, which is essential but not exclusive to performance art. Sculpture, painting, dance, theatre, architecture or music equally work with absurdity to create, formulate and visualise. The inclusion of various factors allows for an in-depth exploration of performance art that incorporates creative processes and provides access to individual work and concept development. Through a variety of experimental settings, we will explore the absurd and create performance art works that bend logic, extend perspectives and engage the body. The performance artworks created in this process will be presented to the public in a festival-like public presentation at the end of the programme in Berlin, Germany.

BBB Johannes Deimling as a teacher
Visual artist working with performance art, film, drawing and sound. He is the founder and artistic director of PAS | Performance Art Studies.
https://www.bbbjohannesdeimling.de

Monika Deimling as a critical observer and photographer
Visual artist working with photography, embroidery and film. She is a creative manager and photographer of PAS | Performance Art Studies.
https://www.monikadeimling.com/art-projects

We are very happy to collaborate with Salon am Moritzplatz in Berlin, Germany for PAS #91.

Performers with the most diverse backgrounds find a platform for their performance in the Salon am Moritzplatz.
Here, people experiment, exhibit, perform, make music, read, reflect and exchange ideas. Interaction takes centre stage,
which is why the Salon sees itself as a space for discourse in the traditional sense.

Moritzplatz is a place with a special history. The salon is located at the interface between the fragmentarily preserved Luisenstadt and the relics of social housing from the post-war period. The window front is reminiscent of the former shop at the beginning of the 20th century. Finally, the roundabout as a front garden recalls the border between the Cold War blocks, which ran through Heinrich-Heine-Straße in the immediate vicinity.

The architecture of the site is discreetly harmonised and offers space for interaction and concentration. The rooms are directly connected to the city through their location and windows. While the city pulsates outside, the history of the premises can be experienced on the ground floor. The old, heavy vault door in the basement bears witness to the previous bank branch.

By Farnoosh A. Nik
“You managed somehow to ACTIVATE my creative spirit and provided the opportunity to expose it to others and to hear from them and to look into other’s mind and to WATCH ACTIVELY and to LISTEN RESPONSIVELY which are amazing skills that I forgot I have and I forgot to pleasure them.“

By Kevin Meehan
“I very very very much appreciated the “there is no wrong or right” motto and you sticking to it! I have heard these very words from other teachers and then very quickly it is revealed that there is in fact a “wrong”. But throughout the PAS Study I felt a growing freedom, a deeper confidence, and a respect for my gut impulses.”

By Veronika Merklein
“And there it was: “Trust your image, your action, yourself!”. PAS empowered me to take MY (performance) art more serious, called my attention to the structures of performances, co-performers in performances and especially really precisely to materials and objects. All in all, I learnt a general attentiveness and it gave me the needed boost to grow up and risk.” – (Veronika Merklein)

For more feedback visit this page.

In the case of cancelling the confirmed spot, the Participant is entitled to a full refund, if PAS | Performance Art Studies receives a notice about it via email, 30 days before the program. If the notice is shorter than 30 days before the program, the fee is going to be returned only if a replacement is found by the Participant.

If the program is cancelled by PAS | Performance Art Studies, the Participant receives a full refund of the fee.

– How to register?
Please fill the form to register for the classes: here. Wait for the confirmation, transfer the fee and you are ready to go.

– I registered but didn’t cover the fee. Is my workshop spot reserved?
Unfortunately not, your place is fully booked only when you cover the fee.

– I am interested in Performance Art but have not much experience, can I take these classes?
Of course, you can, moreover, you should 😉 The PAS teaching method is structured in a way, that no matter what stage you are in you will gain from the process and can further develop your interests.

-I am already an experienced performance artist, will I learn anything new?
Yes, you will, under one condition – you will attend the class with full dedication 😉

– I would need a letter to apply for covering my participation fee / accommodation / travel. Can you provide such a letter?
No problem with that. You just need to provide us with some details and we can send you the letter.

– Can I apply for a scholarship?
Unfortunately, we cannot provide scholarships. We can support you by sending invitation letters if you want to apply for some grants. Besides, we offer payment by instalments.

– I am an art student at a university. Is it possible that my whole class takes part in this course?
Yes, reach out to us and we will help you with further steps.

Were your questions still not answered? Write us an email: pas@bbbjohannesdeimling.de