Ruhm, Gerhard: - Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1930, author, composer, visual artist Gerhard Ruhm is one of the key figures in the postwar European avant-garde. A founding member of the legendary Vienna Group, his work encompasses poetry, prose, radio plays, drama scenarios, music compositions, visual compositions, collages, and graphic art, displaying the influences of Surrealism, Dadaism, and concrete poetry. His later work cleverly incorporates pornographic motifs while skewering religion. He has won such major awards as the Austrian State Prize and the America Award in Literature.