Alf Poier, the eccentric Austrian artist, musician, stand-up comedian and painter who took part in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest in Riga, is currently presenting in Vienna his cabaret show with the title Satsang from October 1-19.
The Austrian artist, who likes to describe himself as an "extreme entertainer" and a "philosopher" has recently bought an old farmhouse on the outskirts of Vienna and turned it into an "Embassy for Consciousness,Crap (originally sheissdreck), and Art". In the rooms of this "embassy" one can see exhibited some requisites and memorabilia from older cabaret shows of the artist together with some nonsense objects such as "the electric chair" or a "Madonna with wide open legs". The whole atmosphere of his "embassy" is a mixture of kitsch, spiritualism and erotiticism. Alf Poier has stated that the purpose of all this is to "create a space, which disproves all possible countable structures, a place, whose laws remain unknown even to himself".
As a self-appointed "ambassador of Consciousness,Crap and Art" is taking the spirit of his embassy and his spiritual insight in the Satsang" (a term taken from the Indian philosophy meaning the effort to reach the highest possible level of perceptiveness through the common and shared looking and hearing) onto the stage with his latest cabaret show with the same title. It is remarkable that his shows seem to have a big appeal to the Austrian audience. His first appearances in the club Orpheum in Vienna on October 1 and 3 are already sold out. For more information on the show, click here.
Alf Poier has been working as a stand up comedian and an artist since 1995. From 1998 until today he has been honored with various Austrian and German show awards. Nonetheless, it was after his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, that he became widely popular in Austria. His song Weil der Mensch zählt" brought to Austria the 6th place (the best placement for this country since 1989), and he missed a second participation in the contest for only 4 votes in the 2005 Austrian national final selection with the controversial song Old Europe is dying. Since then he has sold many thousands cds and has released some of his popular cabaret shows.
An article by Nikolas Psomas
