Gerard Saitner

Portraits of artists of condition-related art

Over thirty years ago, Paris-based professional photographer Gerard Saitner was working on a project for his photography studies at Fachhochschule Dortmund in Germany. His research led him, via the paintings of August Walla, to the artists at Haus der Künstler (House of Artists) at Gugging in Austria.

The back story to the Haus der Künstler is a troubled one. The institute was created in 1889 as a psychiatric clinic near Vienna but it gained terrible notoriety during the second world war for Nazi atrocities. In the post-war years it became a centre where patients were encouraged to create art as a form of therapy. And in 1981 the Center for Art and Psychotherapy was created there.

Gerard explains further: ‘The Haus der Künstler stands out as a haven of genuine creativity. It has a family atmosphere which counteracts the damaging psychological effects of institutionalisation. Its domestic and creative environment stands in contrast to the institutional world surrounding it. The art of the Gugging artists is entirely uninfluenced by artistic examples and is only determined by the personality and mental disposition of every individual. Art Brut is created beyond any tradition and thus also beyond the history of art. The Haus der Künstler has been visited by famous people like the artist Arnulf Rainer and the director of the Vienna Burgtheater, Claus Peymann. In 1994 David Bowie and Brian Eno also visited the Gugging artists.’

Gerard spent twelve days in Gugging, initially observing the artists by acquainting himself with them. ‘I wanted them to have confidence and trust me’, he explains. ‘I was interested in a personal contact with every artist. My concern was to portray the artist in relationship with his art. I was not interested in creating a picture story in a short period of time.’

Clearly delighted to have his submission Portraits of Artists – of Condition-related Art selected as one of three winners of the Open category, Gerard says ‘I now have the chance to attract a wider audience with my pictures of the Gugging artists, especially as the portraits have never before been published in a catalogue.’

All images ©Gerard Saitner 2023