Angerer, der Aeltere

INTUITION/IMAGINATION

How does intuition present itself to you – in form of a suspicious impression, a spontaneous visualisation or whatever - maybe in dreams?

Intuition always strikes you spontaneously - me often very early in the morning, in what I call 'late sleep'. One is still fresh and the thoughts are not yet influenced by other things then.

Will any ideas be written down immediately and archived?

I don't write anything down, because good ideas come back. They come up more and more often.

?: How do you come up with good or extraordinary ideas?

A good idea has to prove itself, otherwise it might just be an exotic, funny one. A good idea must also have substance. The older you get, the more you know from the start what makes up a good idea. When you're young, you make a lot of mistakes. But in the curse of time you learn very quickly and find out whether it is something substantial or not.

?: Do you feel that new creative ideas come as a whole or do you get like a little seed of inspiration that evolves into something else and has to be realized by endless trials and errors in form of constant developments up until the final result?

This is also a matter of age. Nowadays, when I do something, it always works. As you get older you become more and more accurate. I have never struggled with anything like that. However, I am also not so stubborn by saying "I have a good idea, I have to stick to it". It comes very naturally to me. Either it interests me very much, then I stick with it. There are often such casual ideas that come to you and then you forget about them. Later they suddenly reappear.

What if there is a deadline, but no intuition? Does the first fuel the latter maybe?

I always have an idea, otherwise I don't accept an assigment at all. I have often turned them down because I knew I wouldn't think of anything because it wasn't my subject. When I accept an assigment, something comes up to my mind because the job interests me.

INSPIRATION

What inspires you and how do you stimulate this special form of imaginativeness?

That question is very difficult to answer. You often don't know what inspires you. It usually remains in the subconscious. But at some point you get it out again, like something you have put aside.

At the moment when you think you have a good idea, it is not enough to take it on board as it is. You have to circle it, expose it from all sides. You have to give yourself time for that. That is important. Encircling means the constant return of some thoughts. I have no system here. If there is something that interests you, it always comes up again.

?: How do you filter between ideas worthwhile pursuing and bad ones that you just let go of?

That is another matter of experience. In the past I didn't know how to filter and went after ideas that weren't so good. Today I know immediately whether I have a bright idea or not.

Has it to appeal to you primarily or is its commercial potential an essential factor?

The commercial aspect plays no role at all in my artistic work. However, when I get a commission, I am obliged to take the commercial aspect into account.

Do you revisit old ideas or check what colleagues/competitors are up to at times?

Of course. It happens to me all the time that I pick up older ideas. What colleagues do, however, I don't look at. If it ever gets to that point, then you can stop!

CREATIVITY

Which time/place/environment suits your creative work process the best (tranquillity or pressure) and which path do you take from theory/idea to creation?

Peace and quiet suit my creative work the best. That's why I live in the countryside. Quietness gives one the opportunity to pursue something intensively, without interruption.

At first the idea remains in the mental, without procedures. Then, when I think I know exactly what it should be, I start planning. I am a trained architect. So everything that follows has a system.

What is better in the realization process: speed and force creativity i.e. grasp the magic of the moment, or a slow, ripening process for implementation/elaboration?

That varies case by case. Sometimes it's good to seize the moment, sometimes to take a relaxed approach. There are topics of such a burning importance that you want to realize them right away. Fun always plays a big role in my work.  If I particularly enjoy something, I quickly stick to it. On the other hand, there are assignments that one feels obligated to do....

?: Do you have any specific strategies you use when you are feeling stuck creatively?

In a case like that I put the work away until something comes to my mind. But it's like this: you think you're putting something aside, but in your subconscious everything still revolves around this subject. And suddenly you know/have a solution. That‘s amazing.

How important are self-doubt and criticism (by others) during such a process i.e. is it better to be creative on your own, only trust your own instincts, or in a team? 

Self-criticism and criticism in general are very important. I am one of those people who have a very strong self-criticism in the factual area - when it comes to something I do. You have to be honest with yourself. That's one of the most important things, because otherwise you do something stupid and don't realise it.

What refers to judging other peoples‘ work of art: I never to do so. I only ever express my own personal opinion - without standing above the person or its work and saying "that's good or that's bad". 

Should a creative always remain true to him-/herself including taking risks & going against the flow or must one, for reasons of (commercial) survival, make concessions to the demands of the market, the wishes of clients and the audience’s expectations?

Teamwork only makes sense if there is already an idea. A team cannot have an idea. It always happens in the mind of an individual and be that person part of the team. The team can then manage something very well and very creatively. Ideas, however, are created alone. In the implementation, of course, the situation 'idea against idea' can arise. Then it's important to make a judgement. Often, however, there are ideas of equal value and it's a matter of taking a stand. That is often not so easy - especially in a competition. If it's a matter of good or bad, it is usually easy to find out: there are a number of criteria to be subjected to and then the truth is obvious. But when it comes to the purely artistic, it's an open field.

How is innovation still possible if one has established a distinctive style and, just in case, is it good to be ahead of one’s time even one hazards not being understood?

This question does not arise for me as a representational artist. It is relevant to abstract artists. I come from other times and intend to go to other times. I don't care about the present!

When does the time come to end the creative process, to be content and set the final result free - or is it work-in-progress with an endless possibility of improvement?

I have left some paintings lying around or standing because I knew something was missing. It often took me years to realise what it is/was. Then you work on it you look at it and know that’s finished now. There are the ones that are painted in one go and are finished. With others, that is not the case. But you know whether something is finished. This knowledge is purely intuitive.

?: In case of failure or - worse - a creativity crisis how do you get out of such a hole?

I do not know that, although an exception confirms the rule with me. There is a singular, specific case: I wanted to paint Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict XVI later on. It was the first time in my life that I gave up on a portrait because I could not reproduce the radiance in his face. It was the only time I have failed. He had a holy radiance, a special radiance of light - at least that is how I see it - which I was not able to reproduce. All the portraits I saw of him I disliked. The fact that I was unable to adequately portray this impressive, simply overwhelming man confirmed me in the insight that one cannot do everything.

SUCCESS

Should/can one resist the temptation to recycle a ‘formula’ one’s successful with?

I have never had this problem, because when a topic interests me, I do it. Perhaps one can apply here the criticism "Angerer always paints the same". As a teenager I painted landscapes and portraits. I stopped doing so when I attended the Academy of Fine Arts. Then came modernism. It unsettled me. After seeing paintings by Dali as well as Ernst Fuchs, I knew what to do next. It's a completely different kind of painting than so-called modernism, because each painting is something different.

Is it desirable to create the ultimate/timeless work, but doesn’t “top of the ladder” bring up the question of “what’s next?” i.e. isn’t such a personal peak “the end”?

I don't intend to create an ultimate work. Perhaps it will be, without me knowing it. In this respect, such trains of thought are alien to me too. I only strive to do something as well as possible! In view of greats like Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo, who constantly created timeless works of genius for the world, I am very modest and think to myself: if I play just a little bit of a small role, then that's a lot for me. But compared to Kandinsky and whoever else there is in terms of modern artists, I am a giant! In this comparison I am a very good painter, a very good artist - and that's even not difficult!   

MY FAVORITE WORK:

"Das grosse Welttheater" (The Great World Theatre), 1982

If I had to choose one work of mine that is representative of all my creations, it would be "The Great World Theatre". It is so comprehensive, because numerous ideas have gone into it. It expresses a lot in terms of content. The following thought inspired me to paint this huge picture in 1982: The representation of a time like ours with a divided Germany is still missing! I would like to depict that artistically. It seemed an obligation to me that a painter/an artist should take up this situation. That is why I created this painting in particular and fortunately I succeeded very well.