Finally a new interview for my artist series. This time with a photographer I’ve known for quite a while now and who turned out to be a painter too! At the moment I’m helping him to build his new website, something I’ve wanted to do for some years now. And during a meeting he also replied to my artist interview:
Please introduce yourself:
My name is Rasso Bruckert, 59 years old, married, two kids, living in Mauer near Heidelberg, Germany. I have been a social worker in former times. 1987 I went to San Francisco and studied photography there. When I came back to Germany I started to take photos of people with a disability, especially in sports, portraits and nudes. I worked with these subjects for about 10 years with my agency called “Bildagentur Querschnitt”. From 2004 on though I had to cut back on doing photography for personal reasons but started to get more into painting, which has always fascinated me.
What is your definition of art?
In my opinion doing art is an ability that everyone has. In the early times of man practical craftmanship was regarded also as an art. Today art is becoming more a kind of decoration. Art comes from the inside, from the soul of the artist and is an expression of his or her personality. Art is production not reproduction.
Why have you become an artist?
I think I just had enough time and space in my life to develop those artistic abilities that lie deep down in all of us and I discovered that I am not clumsy.
What is your favourite artwork of yourself and why?
That’s a painted portrait of a very good friend of mine who has died. I worked for months on this painting whoch allowed me to say goodbye to him in a very intense way.
How do you work?
I mainly take photos of people and I think that my friendly way is helping me a lot to convince people to be photographed and to build a positive relationship.
And in painting I am influenced by photography too. The photographer’s eye helps a lot with painting.
Who is your favourite artist?
That is difficult to answer because you always discover new ones. I do love Picasso because I’m already fascinated by his life. I envy all artists who have the possibility to live out whatever they do even if they are ruthless to those who think differently to themselves. I fear that a certain amount of ruthlessness comes with being a genius.
What is your favourite material to work with and why?
As a photographer that’s of course a digital camera and a computer, especially as I’ve never been a fan of the darkroom.
In painting: acrylic colors. They do dry quickly but that has its advantages too. To be honest I haven’t experimented much with other material yet. I’m drawing with pencil, coal and oil pastels.
Could you live without making art?
Don’t know. I’d surely miss it but I could live like that – even if it was a worse kind of living.
Where can others find you on the web?
Photos and paintings: © Rasso Bruckert
Dies ist mein persönliches Blog, auf dem ich alle meine vorherigen Websites zusammengefasst habe. Daher die buntegemischten Themen: Ich führe Bloggespräche und blogge über Persönliches, Digitales und Kulturelles. Ich liebe es, Menschen zu fotografieren und mich mit Kunst zu beschäftigen. Manchmal schreibe ich auch noch was anderes als Blogbeiträge. Für andere bin ich als Wegbegleiterin in Sachen Kommunikation aktiv. Vor allem bin ich aber eins: Ein Mensch!