In the performance “In Marks Schatten” (“In Mark’s Shadow”), artist Vincent Mitzev swims the seven Olympic gold medals of US champion Mark Spitz in a reenactment of this Olympic series of victories. Not to swim the exact time, but to give everything is the heart of the reenactment!
The performance recalls the serene time of the Games before the assassination of the Israeli athletes on 5/6 September 1972, without fading it out. Mark Spitz swam his last victory on 4 September before the catastrophe and, as a US citizen of Jewish origin, was flown out to the USA shortly after the kidnapping.
Vincent Mitzev’s performance is an homage to an exceptional athlete, as well as a personal approach to the Olympic spirit of competition, participation and diversity in all its fragility and threat.
On the four days of the performance, a reception committee welcomes the guests and guides them through the event. A small booklet available there provides additional information, photos and stories.
The preparations can now be followed on Vinzent Mitzev’s Instagram account: @vincent_mitzev_artist
Vincent Mitzev, born in 1964 in Kazanlak, Bulgaria, lives and works in Munich.
