In glorious candy floss colour and neon lit up rooms, the work of Klaus Pichler has always been exciting and playful to look at. We interviewed Klaus recently on his daily inspirations as a working artist and photographer.
Hey! Please introduce yourself and what you do!
Hi, my name is Klaus Pichler, I am a photographer from Vienna, Austria, and – guess what? – I am taking photos.
What is it about your practice that you find so exciting and keeps you hooked?
It maybe sounds stupid, but I just love everything about photography: the possibilities of expressing myself, the shutter sound, the things in connection with like printing, paper, materials, prints, the gear, the bookmaking, just everything.
If you could experiment with any other medium, what would you choose?
I guess if I was able to paint, I’d go for painting. In fact, I am the most untalented painter on earth, so I can hardly imagine how it probably feels to paint. Therefore: painting, yes.
Where do you get your daily inspiration?
Mostly from observing people in their everyday lives, preferably on the streets or in interaction, but also on a meta-layer via newspapers, blogs and also books.
When is your favorite time to work?
Every time when I am not hungry, no matter when that may be.
What makes you wake up each morning feeling pumped to create some new work?
Hmmm, immediately after waking up I often encounter myself standing in front of the mirror, looking into it and thinking ‚I don’t know you, but I brush your teeth anyway‘, but after I have had my daily dose of coffee, I am gaining consciousness and having good chances to be in a creative mood.
Are there any artists/photographers/writers/filmmakers or musicians where you have in mind when looking at creating new works?
There’s definitely some inspiration needed for each and every project and I consider doing research very important. But there’s no ‚lifetime hero‘ in my case, more, part time heroes‘ fitting to the current project.
What are you currently working on that you just can’t get enough of?
I have just finished a book about a dying generation of Austrian wine bars and their drinkers which has just been published at Edition Patrick Frey under the title ‚Golden days before they end‘.
What’s next for you?
Some weeks of holidays, I hope, and plenty of new ideas which I will focus on afterwards.
