Willy Puchner (born 15 March 1952) is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Early life and career

Puchner was born and raised in Mistelbach an der Zaya,

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

, on 15 March 1952. In 1967, he relocated to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to attend photography classes at the Höhere Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt (Higher Federal Institution for Graphic Education and Research). After completing his studies in 1974, Puchner taught photography at HGBLuVA for a short period. Since 1978, Puchner has worked as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

photographer and writer based in

. He later pursued studies in various social and life sciences, including

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, and obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in philosophy, though it is unknown from which educational institution. During the 1980s, he delivered numerous lectures on private photography at universities, museums, and galleries. Starting in 1989, Puchner has worked regularly for the ''

Wiener Zeitung ''Wiener Zeitung'' () is an Austrian newspaper. First published as the ''Wiennerisches Diarium'' in 1703, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the world. Until April 2023, it was the official gazette of the government of the Republic of Austria ...

'', an Austrian newspaper.

Photography projects

For one of Puchner's projects, a children's picture book titled, "Penguins – Traveling the World", he traveled with a pair of

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

statues, "Joe and Sally", taking them to tourist sites—including the sea, the desert,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

—to photograph them there. Other Puchner projects have centered on portraits of elderly subjects: "Die 90-jährigen" (At the Age of 90), "Dialog mit dem Alter" (Dialogue with the High Age), "Die 100-jährigen" (At the Age of 100), "Lebensgeschichte und Fotografie" (Oral History and Photography), and "Liebe im Alter" (Love at High Age). Overall, Puncher has held over 30 different exhibitions worldwide on the subject of photography, and over 20 different printed projects, including children's picture books and various photo sets, featuring his photography work. The editions for these printed projects are available in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Exhibitions

* 1980: Museum Moderner Kunst (Museum of Modern Art),

and Künstlerhaus (House of Artists), N.Ö. Galerie, Vienna * 1982: Museum des 20. Jahrhundert (Museum of the 20th Century), Vienna * 1984: Österreichisches Fotomuseum (Austrian Museum of Photography),

Bad Ischl Bad Ischl (Austrian German ) is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the river Traun in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Ahorn'', ''Bad Ischl'', ''Haiden ...

* 1992: Steirischer Herbst,

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

* 2001: "''On the Road at Home''" (Auf Reisen zu Hause), gallery Atrium ed Arte, Vienna * 2005: ''Stopover New York'', gallery Atrium ed Arte, Vienna * Further exhibitions in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

Kleve Kleve (; traditional ; ; ; ; ; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Netherlands, Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and lat ...

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, Klagenfurt,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Washington, D.C Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Ōita,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, and

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

Bibliography

* ''Bäume'', 1980, (words

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

), * ''Zum Abschied, zur Wiederkehr'', 1981 (words

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

), * ''Gestaltung mit Licht, Form und Farbe'', 1981, * ''Bilder österreichischer Städte'', (words Harald Sterk), 1982, * ''Strahlender Untergang'', (words

Christoph Ransmayr Christoph Ransmayr (; born 20 March 1954) is an Austrian writer. Life Born in Wels, Upper Austria, Ransmayr grew up in Roitham near Gmunden and the Traunsee. From 1972 to 1978 he studied philosophy and ethnology in Vienna. He worked there as ...

), 1982, * ''Bilder österreichischer Landschaft'', (words Harald Sterk), 1983, * ''Andalusien'', (words Walter Haubrich), 1983, * ''Die Wolken der Wüste'', 1983 (words Manfred Pichler), * ''Dorf-Bilder'', 1983, * ''Zugvögel seit jeher'', 1983, (words

Erich Hackl Erich Hackl (born 26 May 1954 in Steyr, Upper Austria) is an Austrian novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 25 languages though he is significantly better known in the German-speaking world. Many of his works, notabl ...

), * ''Das Herz des Himmels'', 1985, (words Erich Hackl), * ''Die Sehnsucht der Pinguine'', 1992, * ''Ich bin ...'', 1997, * ''Penguins – Traveling the World,'' 1999, * ''Tagebuch der Natur'', 2001, * ''Flughafen. Eine eigene Welt'', 2003, * ''Illustriertes Fernweh. Vom Reisen und nach Hause kommen'', 2006, * ''Wien. Vergnügen und Melancholie'', 2008, * ''Willy Puchners Welt der Farben'', 2011, * ''ABC der fabelhaften Prinzessinnen.'' Nord-Süd Verlag, Zürich 2013, . * ''Hans im Glück.'' Nord-Süd Verlag, Zürich 2014, * ''Unterwegs, mein Schatz!'' G&G Verlag, Wien 2015, * ''Willy's World of Wonders,'' NorthSouth Books 2019,

English editions

* ''Joe & Sally: A Long Way from Home'', 1993, * ''Penguins - Traveling the World'', 1999, * ''A Brief History of the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna'', 2008, together with

Heinrich Pfusterschmid-Hardtenstein Heinrich Pfusterschmid-Hardtenstein (*16 January 1927 – 6 May 2024, Graz, Styria) was an Austrian diplomat, who has also been active in the academic world and cultural policy. Biography After attending elementary and secondary school (1934� ...

, . * ''Vienna. Pleasure and Melancholy'', 2008, * ''The ABC of Fabulous Princesses'', 2014, * ''The ABC of Fantastic Princes'', 2015,

Awards

Theodor Körner Prize The Theodor Körner Prize (German: ''Theodor-Körner-Preis'') is a set of annual Austrian awards bestowed by the Theodor Körner Fund in recognition of cultural and/or scientific advances. The prize is awarded at the University of Vienna. The priz ...

for art (1983) * Theodor Körner Prize for social sciences (1988) * Österreichischer Staatspreis für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur for ''Tagebuch der Natur (2002)'' * Kinderbuchpreis der Stadt Wien for ''Tagebuch der Natur (2002)'' * Kunstmediator (2011) * Österreichischer Staatspreis für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur „Willy Puchners Welt der Farben“ (2012) * Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis der Stadt Wien (Illustrationspreis) „Willy Puchners Welt der Farben“ (2012)

References

External links

Willy Puchner's website

Fotohof Gallery's database entry on Willy Puchner

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puchner, Willy 1952 births 21st-century Austrian photographers 20th-century Austrian painters Austrian male painters 21st-century Austrian painters 21st-century Austrian male artists Austrian male writers Living people 20th-century Austrian male artists