Art is communication too

English translation of the interview  by Stephanie Ristig-Bresser

Annette Schwindt about her artistic work

Besides working as a communications consultant, Annette Schwindt pursuits a big hobby whenever she finds the time for it: creating artwork, painting, making sculptures, taking photos… For this passion she has opened a virtual platform with her website. So I’ve made an interview with Annette Schwindt about art for Kulissenblog.

You’ve said in an interview that you’re painting and drawing for as long as you can remember. When did you start to artistically express yourself more intensively?
I had additional art education as a child already and have learned the basic techniques there. In school I had really good art teachers and also took part in competitions for pupils.  I’ve always expressed myself artistically, in painting or with different kinds of sculptures or collages or with photography, I was always in contact with other artists and looked more closely at their work.

Then often one thing leads to the other. A video artist has asked me once to make photos of him for his project and that’s how I discovered that I have an eye for portrait photography. I do that often ever since and with great passion. Unfortunately I don’t have much time for painting… This only happens in eruptions whenever something has to get out of me.

What is it that art gives you – especially in comparison to your main work as a communications consultant?
Art is a form of communication too, I can perfectly let go making art. And it’s mainly the artistic work I’m after. An idea appears, MUST get out, no matter how late it is, and then literally has to be given birth to.  Sometimes I’m „pregnant“ with some projects before they finally get out eruptively. When I’ve succeeded to do that, I’m not interested much in most paintings anymore. My concern is the creation, the haptic experience too, working with different material.

Where have you learned to paint?
Not at all. I’m quite disrespectful about that. I don’t care if something relates to a certain school. It’s all about the making. If I go to an exhibition I have a look at HOW things are made rather than looking at the esthetical ensemble. Of course I like some artworks more than others but most of the time it’s because I’m inspired by the way it has been created. After visiting an exhibition I’m often so filled with impressions and inspiration that I have to start to create something myself immediately. And then I also make artwork that is not so typical for me like the portrait of Mer.

What and how do you paint? Where do you find your inspiration?
That depends. Sometimes I just feel the need for blue and then I do it. I rarely have a plan beforehand. It evolves while working. On other days I have a new material that I want to try because it looks so interesting or feels so extraordinary. Another time I’ve seen or taken a photo that I want to transport into a painted picture or I’ve been to an exhibition and have to let something out. That’s why I prefer to work alone. Sometimes I have friends here who come to paint with me. But then the conversation about what they do is more interesting to me than my own work.

You’ve sold some of your artwork too. Is art a business for you? Do you have an economic interest too or is it just a postive side effect to make money with your artwork?
No, art is not a business for me, but an inner necessitiy. My way of finding my balance, a possibility to relax completely. I often give away paintings for free to friends or family or if someone likes anything particularly. As I said: for me it’s about the making not about the product or money.

One of your paintings, „Hexenkessel“, went on tour in March 2009 Can you tell a bit about this project?
„Hexenkessel“ is a twin painting that has been made with extra pastous acrylics by pressing two canvasses of 100x100cm to each other. One of them is hanging in our living room and is always a subject of conversation with guests. The second one is only standing in a corner and so I took it out to the riverside here in Bonn. It was very interesting to see how people reacted to „art on tour“ and to see how the painting looked in different environments.

On your schwindt-ART blog you’re writing in English only. Why is that?
My exchange about art is mainly with friends and other artists who don’t speak German. Everyone can understand English to some extent. The whole thing once started on myspace anyway.

On schwindt-ART you present your own art and you also present artist who inspire you. Which artists are your favourites? Which artist would you still like to interview?
Oh dear, there are a lot of them… I’m inspired by many artists for many different reasons. I’ve only just taken part in a worldwide art project by Farzad Kohan (USA) . The sculptures of Antoine Josse (France) are very inspiring to me and the water colors of Morten W.Gjul (Norway). I’d like to interview Magne Furuholmen who inspired me in 2005 to get involved with art agin more intensively.

Which creative projects are you working on at the moment?
Unfortunately I have no time to work artistically at the moment. But my husband and I started a little photo series of coffeee faces for fun on facebook. It all started with a painting of a friend during our last painting session together. And I’d like to make some more hairy cubes to have a whole hairy series (I still have a lot of my cut off hair here, so there’s plenty of material available).