Humor is an art

From the new snapshot: "Humor"

Lots of different things take place in our imagination - funny, sad, interesting, creative. In Matthias Schwaighofer's world of ideas, humorous thoughts take precedence, which he brings to life in his photos.

The Duden defines Tyrolean as follows: "Narrow-minded mountain people, with a tendency to approach other people with skepticism."

Yes, I am a Tyrolean, but I am not called a "Hias." At around 40 years of age, I almost enjoy an old-man status in the country, which is inevitably awarded to you after surviving for so long in such a steep alpine area populated by narrow-minded people. In this country, the job title "pixel pusher" also applies amazingly well.

I quickly had to realize that mountain air smells great, but it doesn't pay rent. Inevitably, therefore, I took the
path of digital art about 15 years ago and took off my genetic blinders to take advantage of the Internet's cosmopolitanism. You could also describe this decision as a splitting off of my roots
. Except I make such absurd art that a native customer base would probably take fright.

"I'd like to have those drugs you do, too." Such or comparable comments have been piling up below my paintings since the beginning of my internet presence. There is no question that some works seem a bit weird and absurd, however, it is exactly these works that stand out and shape my name. How I come up with such ideas is never easy to say. Perhaps it is simply the urge to always do the opposite of what is assumed. Freely according to the motto: A burning fire engine works better than a child in a flower pot.

" ... It is simply the urge to always do the opposite of what is assumed."

I need a gallows today, terminator weapons tomorrow, and a sunken ship next week. You could build all of that with Photoshop, but it's only half as much fun. That's why I invest an extreme amount of time and planning into building my backdrops and props. Only when it looks real, it looks authentic on the pictures. For this reason, the setup usually takes considerably longer than the shooting and the picture montage itself. Freelance work often takes a few days. With customer orders, it is usually the fee that puts the brakes on the time. However, I often find myself refining parts in my images for free to make them just a tad better.

Advertising stays in your head better when you have a good feeling about it. Being able to laugh at it or recognize a joke helps immensely. However, not everyone can handle my kind of humor, and it does happen that an idea that seems brilliant to me gets cut out for fear that it might not go over so well. That's fine, just sometimes extremely unfortunate, because I could easily imagine how a banal product could generate more reach through good, entertaining advertising. Okay, then we'll just do it like everyone else, but then we mustn't get upset if the excitement or good appeal fails to materialize.

" Photography is never something finished for me. ... "

Photography is never something finished for me. It serves only the rough structure, which is finally finalized in Photoshop. So all my data goes through retouching first, where it is polished to a shine.
In my trainings and workshops, I can't force my kind of humor on you. But the longer you deal with these topics, the sooner you will get a feeling for what is funny and what is not. My highest commandment is called "be simple". Because simple humor is an art in itself and can do a lot when used correctly.

more info and more works:
Matthias Schwaighofer
www.schwaighofer-art.com
Instagram:@schwaighoferart
www.facebook.com/SchwaighoferART

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