Johann Holzfeind Wieltschnig
My Path to Art
My first drawings were created during my school years in Treffen and later in Görtschach. At the primary school of the Görtschach youth home, however, there was no formal theoretical or practical art education.
When Reimund Wukounig, who was six years older than me, transferred to Görtschach from the dissolved Harbach-Limmersach educational institution as “Pupil No. 33,” Bruno Muck brought us together. The drawing teacher invited me into the art room, whose walls were already adorned with larger works by Wukounig. I was fascinated by his artistic talent. Reimo had painted a monkey, a work that remains vividly in my memory to this day.
The foundation for the later artistic careers of both Reimo Wukounig and myself, “Pupil No. 44,” had been laid. Due to the considerable age difference between us and the fact that the older pupils spent most of their time performing agricultural work, we met almost exclusively in the drawing studio.
From 1958 to 1962, Wukounig studied at the Ortwein School in Graz and later continued his education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. My own opportunities were not quite as fortunate. Nevertheless, given my artistic aptitude, an apprenticeship as a church painter and restorer was considered for my future career.
I received my technical training from Lukas Arnold in Klagenfurt and later from Adolf Osterider, Professor of Visual Design at the HTBLA Ortweinplatz in Graz. These experiences provided the technical foundation upon which I later built my career as a painter. Theoretical training, however, remained limited, and I lacked the mentor necessary to pursue formal academic studies in art. Although one of my vocational school teachers intended to submit an application to the Academy of Fine Arts on my behalf, this never came to fruition.
I later sought to make up for some of my lack of theoretical knowledge and understanding of art history as best I could. It was Reimo Wukounig, whom I met again in the 1990s, who played a decisive role in this process. My former role model and fellow pupil became a private mentor to both my wife Liane and me.
From him I learned so much that I was finally able to express myself with greater confidence and understanding in artistic matters.
My education continued through direct encounters with original artworks in exhibitions, participation in artistic projects, the study of artists' biographies and exhibition catalogues, and through countless conversations with fellow artists.
