Heimo Wallner
Artist Interview – Neiman Center 25th Anniversary Catalogue
LNCPS: Why did you accept the invitation to make prints at the Neiman Center for Print Studies and did you accomplish what you had hoped to do in terms of the finished project?
Heimo Wallner: Because it was very exciting to work in facility like that. And: Yes, I did.
LNCPS: How do the prints you made at the Neiman Center relate to your larger body of work?
Heimo Wallner: They are a continuation and a translation of my drawings. I like how a spontaneous line freezes and solidifies in a print.
LNCPS: Had you ever made prints before your residency at the Neiman Center? If not, why were you open to trying printmaking at that time?
Heimo Wallner: I did - on a very basic level. My simple approach worked really well except for the fact that I ruined 12 newly stretched big screens, because of a weird chemical reaction - some oil/water problem that I have never encountered again since…
LNCPS: When you came to the Neiman Center did you have a project in mind? How would you describe your collaboration with the master printer?
Heimo Wallner: Yes, I came with a very clear project and a rather small window of time. Since I wanted to realize the project as fast as possible and since I like a very hands on approach, the role of the master printer was more of a consulting one. At the end all of my maniacal printing did not save any work for the Neiman Center, because they had to re-stretch all those screens. Thank you!
LNCPS: The Neiman Center has a pedagogical mission statement and its workforce is comprised mainly of graduate and undergraduate students. Did this aspect interest you when you decided to work at the Neiman Center? What was your experience like working with the students?
Heimo Wallner: My experience was fantastic. The pedagogical part totally worked out: I learned a lot from the students.
LNCPS: For many artists working outside their studios, which is often a solitary space, can have its own set of challenges. How did you find the collaborative nature of printmaking at the Neiman Center?
Heimo Wallner: I thrive in environments like that. I am actually creating similar environments continuously myself, be it in teaching situations, be it in organising artists symposia/residencies. Everybody working intensely on his/her project on the one hand and artistic exchange on the other…
LNCPS: Did any of the print processes you tried at the Neiman have an effect on your working method back in the studio?
Heimo Wallner: Whatever I really know about printmaking I have learned there - respectively learned to ignore to a certain extent, because the level of perfection, the level of complexity that certain print projects require is insane. At the Neiman Center I have learned and experienced that more than all the knowledge and all the trade secrets the will and the joy to experiment and the guts to tackle unknown territory are the key to amazing results.
LNCPS: Please share any additional comments or anecdotes about your time at the Neiman Center.
Heimo Wallner: No artistic vision is too big or too difficult (or too simple for that matter).
Artists can turn into Black Holes when it’s about their work - everything gets sucked in.
The Neiman Center counters this force with a gravitation that they built over the years. They know how to feed these Black Holes AND to make them shine at their best. Maybe because pretty much everyone who works in the Neiman Center is an artist themselves. In this maelstrom of ideas and possibilities many stellar moments have occurred. They really do push the envelope.
