Elke Krystufek
*1970 in Wien (AT)
It’s enough
Despite her eclectic oeuvre, Elke Krystufek is best known for the scandalous performances of her early years. In 1994, as part of her performance Satisfaction, she provocatively attracts attention by masturbating publicly, in front of the audience. In the same year, she creates the etching Itʼs enough, which is divided into three panels like a comic strip and depicts various situations of the female protagonist in mirror image: first, a bedroom scene while masturbating, titled 101 ORGASMS ALONE; underneath, at a laid table, accompanied by the statement 1001 DINNERS ALONE. And also the scene of a couple browsing through an art magazine does not tell of loneliness and frustration. Krystufek’s major theme was and is the role of women in art and the art world. For her, female sexuality is just as natural as regular everyday activities. Despite the focus on the artist’s body, it remains unclear whether her works are biographical or mere stagings in which Krystufek presents herself as a fictional character.
