Franz Josef Baur:

“Sometimes I’m afraid of myself”

Franz Josef Baur answered the questions of the "Krone".

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Mario Urbantschitsch)

The Viennese-by-choice and pop artist Franz Josef Baur was a guest on "Klatsch & Klartext" and told me why he likes cleaning toilets, what he still dreams of and what he actually earns as an artist.

"Krone": Hello Franz Josef, tell our readers when you came to Austria and what hurdles you had to overcome?
Franz Josef Baur: In the beginning, I commuted and slept in hotels. Now, I've been in Vienna for a good year. About the hurdles ... It's funny because you don't notice any big differences at first, only after a while! For example, although we speak the same language, there are big differences in tone. When I talk to friends, I sometimes misinterpret things or take them to heart, even though it wasn't meant or weighted that way, because I misunderstand it. But basically it was all very, very simple.

So you weren't held back emotionally or by bureaucracy?
No, Austria is actually my home country and it wasn't that foreign, after all, I grew up with ORF, "Am dam des" and Thomas Brezina were my childhood. I even knew Dominic Heinzl.

Is the life of an artist an easy one? Do you actually earn a good living?
It's a challenging one! I only took the plunge late, in my mid-30s, put all my eggs in one basket and quit my office job. Being an employee has its advantages, you go to work Monday to Friday and get paid at the end of the month. I can organize it, but if I just lie in bed, no one will take it from me. And it's difficult because of course you also have phases when you're not creative at all or have no ideas at all and then, despite the internal pressure, you have to admit to taking a break. But you actually want and need to keep going. So there are months when I'm selling great and earning great money, and then there are months when there's nothing. And dealing with this balancing act is sometimes difficult.

(Bild: Urbantschitsch Mario)

So you could say it fluctuates?
Exactly, it fluctuates. It's certainly great to be in society or when people recognize you or your work. Nevertheless, I also have to take out the garbage and I also have to walk the dog and I have to do exactly the same things as everyone else and that's okay! For example, if I go to an event in the evening, or the more successful I am, then the first thing I usually do the next day is clean the toilet to ground myself! *laughs*

How do you look back on your time in the office and during your training as a chef?
Those were different times, it has to be said, in the 90s in southern Germany, both parents were farmers. I went to a careers advisor back then, I was supposed to learn something "good" and they came up with "chef" relatively quickly and I quite liked it, so that's what I did - today I can at least provide for myself properly *laughs*. In my later job in Stuttgart in the events industry, I earned a good living and could have stayed there until I retired. But while I like to reappraise the past in my art, I don't really look back in life. I can't change it anymore, so I let it go, I don't regret anything.

Even though he is happy to have drastically changed his life again, Franz Josef Baur has no regrets.

(Bild: Urbantschitsch Mario)

Does that mean you don't hold it against those around you that you didn't encourage your artistic streak?
For heaven's sake, no! I love my parents and they certainly always did everything right and acted to the best of their knowledge and belief. But they just couldn't do anything with the fact that the boy wanted to do something with art and fashion, that's breadless - I don't think they can even do that today. They can't understand how someone could spend thousands of euros on something that I painted. But my dad is 80, my mom is about to turn 80 ... That won't change and I don't want it to.

Do you have dreams? And if so, which ones?
Well, I actually dream of being able to continue working as I do now. That I can work very, very self-sufficiently, very independently. That I can actually do what I enjoy every day or what I feel most passionate about, to continue living like this, that's my dream.

What are you afraid of?
I have many, many fears! Maybe even of myself sometimes. I don't know.

What scares you about yourself?
I'm a very, very structured person and always want to have everything under control, which of course sometimes doesn't go hand in hand with being an artist. Sometimes I have an idea that I don't put into practice because I have doubts about it beforehand - then it would probably be better to walk a few meters further. But I think I'm just basically a very sensitive and also very, very emotional and also tend to be anxious.

What else would you say to 10-year-old Franz Josef?
Be brave and keep up the courage you already had as a child. I've always had an inner voice that led me out of the office and into self-employment, for example - back then I also had to dare to put all my eggs in one basket. Or often just to keep doing what I liked and not let it dissuade me. Maybe I'm not so scared after all ...

Baur during the interview in a coffee house in Vienna's city center.

(Bild: Urbantschitsch Mario)

And what would you say to 30-year-old Franz Josef?
Hurry up, do it now! Back then, I was already very unhappy in my job and I knew it wasn't the life I wanted to live. But I still like to think about that time sometimes, and I'm still in touch with my colleagues and bosses from back then.

One last question, which brings us back to the beginning: What do you miss here from your home country?
I sometimes miss the food. I miss the Maultaschen. I miss the lentils with spaetzle and string sausage! My parents, of course, but luckily I have the opportunity to visit them at any time. Apart from that, no, I don't really miss too much and there is great cuisine in Austria too!

Touché, thank you for the interview.