Rawness in Nitsch's work

the skinned and mutilated lamb and a playbill of a Nitsch's exhibition

Hermann Nitsch's work, considered both ritualistic and existential, first drew attention in the 1960s when he exhibited a skinned and mutilated lamb. The lamb was crucified against a white fabric-covered wall, with the entrails removed and displayed below a white table, splashed with blood and hot water. Nitsch's subsequent work has incorporated many similar elements, often combining slaughtered animals, red fruits, music, dancing, and active participants, with semi-religious icons such as staged crucifixions, satirizing and questioning the moral ethics. 

Currently his work is often discussed in the context of our culture's fixation with violence seen on the news, movie screens, and in popular video games.