ARTISTS TALKING

Born in Pfarrkirchen, Bayern in Germany in 1982, Haidacher studied photography at The University of the Arts, Linz from 2006 to 2009. He is currently studying for his Masters there. Haidacher has also spent some time living in London (and has an impeccable English accent). Haidacher is one of the artists based in Linz to be awarded a studio at the Salzamt for one year during 2009/2010. He also won the Best Selected Works prize in the Epson Art Photo Award 2009.

Practice

Haidacher is a photographer. He is reluctant to categorise or explain his work too much, but I find that his choices, for example, to photograph a ski resort in summer and a water park in winter suggest he likes turning things on their head and disrupting expectations. His work often seems to features places at their quietest and I am inclined to think that this rather shy artist is happiest in the places of his photographs: mountain summits and off-season tourist traps.

When I asked about his artist statement, he replied, "I don't want to write one, because I don't like being pinned down in the future to something I say now. I (naïvely!) wish there was more appreciation for intuition, feeling, beauty... artworks should get the chance to stand for themselves and to represent nothing but themselves. All too often they are killed by description."

Alpenrose

This is a project realised with his partner and sometime collaborator, photographer Magdalena Fischer in the ski resort of Alpenrose during off-season. He says on creating the work that "we were in the mountains on vacation, but with cameras. We decided it would be a project. I think it makes a lot of sense for us to work together. It was an interesting project though, in a resort where lots of people were taking photographs with huge, expensive cameras. I think we recognise so many more of the small things and actually, they are photographs that anyone could have been taking, but they didn't." The photographers produced a limited edition book documenting the project, which has now sold out.

Income

Haidacher is currently studying for a Masters degree at the University of the Arts, Linz, but has an income from three things: some help from his parents; a stipend from the university, for which he does technician work in the photography department and lastly, from selling work. I am interested to know if he feels there is a separation between commercial work and personal projects as I know he makes some money doing work for clients, shooting subjects like architecture. He says: "I don't have a problem with being commercial. So many people have the ideology that they think they've failed as an artist if they are making money.

Haidacher estimates the amount of income that comes from his art is around thrty to forty per cent. He says he is content with an income of around 12,000 Euros, although he does find working in photography expensive, especially as he often works in analogue format. The analogue element is vital to his work though and he says "the handling, the look, the colours and dimension of analogue; it is a very different thing to digital. It looks different; I don't know what it is, I can't describe it!"

Location

I have been thinking about some of the parallels between Liverpool and Linz and wondering whether it is easier to make a living or build a career in a smaller sized city. I ask Haidacher what he thinks about building a career as an artist in Linz and he replies: "You don't get such a competitive feeling here, so maybe you can work more freely. Maybe you can stand out more quickly if you are good."

 As he is originally from Germany I am curious to know if he plans to move back there at some point. "Maybe, but there are not many places... not Berlin, it's too saturated with artists, I don't know what people are they looking for there. I just don't feel right there." We discuss the importance of positioning yourself in the place where you will work best; what size fish you should be in what size pond. It can be a difficult decision for lots of people, although it seems Haidacher is not influenced by outside trends, preferring to follow his instinct. Although he acknowledges that Linz maybe too small to live in the long term, it seems a good place for him to be at the moment, with Vienna possibly being the next step after university. It seems there are tangible benefits to being in Austria though, particularly as a young artist. "They have some money to support artists here, which is not always the case, for example there is less in Germany. But then at the start (of your career) it might be pretty good, but you can't always go very far - there may be a limit."

Professional Practice

Because of the ongoing debates I am seeing between artists about the current University system in the UK, I am keen to know whether professional practice is a part of Haidacher's course. He says: "They don't really encourage the idea of that, no. But that's maybe the problem at universities; they might be great artists but not necessarily great teachers."

Haidacher operates with a small support network, and often works closely with his partner. I ask about his peers at university, do they challenge him? Does he enjoy feedback about his work? "I'm glad that I have a girlfriend in the same year that has helped me more than the teachers. I get feedback from two or three people, my flatmates and my girlfriend. I appreciate and respect them, but that is about it, otherwise I work alone."

Haidacher's reluctance to describe his work explicitly also brings him some difficulty. "Everywhere I go I have to talk about my work to legitimise it with intellectual placement. It can bring some people down and it's a lot of pressure when sometimes I think photographs can explain themselves. Everyone expects it, but for me it's often the other way around; I am drawn to something and afterwards it becomes a series or the meaning is clearer. Sometimes it kills your creativity; you don't realise projects because they aren't justified, that's wrong. If you want to do something, just do it and then work it out after.

The right opportunities

Last year Haidacher won the best selected works prize in the Epson prize, an international competition, which also resulted in an exhibition in Cologne. He says that he "got the feeling like it was the first time someone was really seeing my work". Although there is prize money, it's clear that the exposure was what really excited him on winning this. I ask if legacy is always more important then money. "Yes definitely, but I can't live on that or rely on getting those each year. I will carry on taking part in competitions and hopefully it will last a longer time that way."

Evidently, Haidacher is already practising professionally outside of university and I ask him whether he is continually applying for competitions and opportunities such as the Epson Prize? "Yes," he replies, "it's the only possibility. I have no illusion about that." As a postgraduate student, I am curious to whether he sees volunteering as a good way to gain experience. "I haven't volunteered, but I would. Perhaps in a gallery or as a photography assistant? Curating might be good too, but only if I could learn something new. It all depends on what you do, but it doesn't make sense to do something like this for say more than half a year."

The future

In the future Haidacher says he expects he will continue to make a living in a similar way, with various sources of income. I ask if being represented by a gallery is something he is working towards? "Why not? But that's the good thing about working in photography; it works well in a gallery but also in books and magazines. There are a few routes to making a living." He and Fischer self-published Alpenrose as a signed edition of 50 for this reason and on printing books of his work Haidacher says: "It's a sort of compromise as there are people who would like the work, but cannot afford a print, so they may buy a book."

I want to know if he has a plan, a particular direction he will follow. "Yes I have a plan, I'm sure like everyone hopes, that I can live off art somehow. It's not really about making a lot of money but more like making a living from art."

Links

www.maximilianhaidacher.com
www.magdalenafischer.net

Emily Speed

Emily Speed is an artist based in Liverpool.

www.emilyspeed.co.uk

First published: Research papers May 2010