2009 IB HL Visual Art Exhibition: Konrad Plaikner

After having enrolled in public schools all my life, with one hour of basic art class per week, not separated by students’ skill or interest level, I realized that my artistic abilities were very limited and basic. Due to the low level of ability I started the course off with, I can say that I grew and developed tremendously on every level. I learned how to effectively make use of my creativity, my skills in every media but most of all drawing increased vastly and most importantly, I learned that the most important part of art is not its aesthetic value but its meaning and message.
With my work I am trying to address and in that way make aware of world issues especially issues in western society. This and also the fact that not many art student of my age are stencil artists, I believe make my work outstanding. Throughout this development of mine I faced mostly technical issues like learning how to draw, getting over the intention of making exactly what forms in my mind, learning all the artistic terms necessary to work as an art student. Almost all challenges I faced were solved with time and accumulation of experience, but I solved for example my drawing disability by letting myself be taught the way of all my fellow art students. I was greatly influenced by many street artist including Banksy, Meek, Swoon or BluBlu. Their work impressed my because of its publicity and it’s ironically critical message. Most of those artist can be either found online or on the streets. Throughout the year I tried to experiment with every media available, always being on the search for diversity of media in my pieces.