Out & About: Do you call yourself an artist?

Pollo7: Sometimes as a shortcut to put what I do into one word.

What inspires you?

When an old illusion crumbles and the new one is not yet recognizable. This often happens in unspectacular everyday life. If you endure it, you can see behind the simulation of life for a moment. I draw from that.

“With each work I embark on an inner journey.”

How did you start?

In my childhood, I documented daily life on our farm in drawings. When I was twelve, I saw 8 Mile, rode through the village on my moped that same night and spray-painted everything. That was the mode.

If you had the chance to study art, would you do it?

The question implies that I don’t have the chance from your point of view. It sounds problematic to my ears, but I’m sure you didn’t mean it that way. Regarding the answer: I like the illusion of studying and I also like to spend time at art schools. That’s why I wouldn’t do it.

Do you have an underlying message in your work?

With each work I embark on an inner journey. The paintings are the souvenirs of it.

Do you earn money from your art?

Yes.

Do you have any additional sources of income?

I still work in residential care for children and young people.

“I like the illusion of studying and I also like to spend time at art schools.”

Do you have any advice for aspiring young artists?

The book “How to Be an Artist” by Jerry Saltz.

Dear Pollo7, thank you very much for your answers! We wish you all the best on your way as an artist.

Interview: Ina Bandixen

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In the interview series “Artists without a degree in art” we have conducted interviews with artists who have no formal training in the liberal arts and who combine different backgrounds. It is important to us to show that the often still elitist thinking in conservative art institutions represents a barricade for many people, for example when discriminatory structures, racist and sexist attitudes, or even financial barriers make it difficult for them to enter art studies. On the other hand, it is also about understanding that life courses do not always follow a linear and clear line, and that detours and backgrounds outside the field can represent great added value. In the series, seven artists answer the same ten questions about their own CVs and how they ended up where they are now. They tell of very individual and stubborn paths to art, which show how diverse the path to professional creation can be.