Richard Autner: I started taking photos when I was "lost" in life

He is a man of many arts. He does not like to devote himself exclusively to one of them, so he avoids stereotypes and seeks new impulses. He (re)discovered photography as an expression of his view of the world in the spring of this year. Talented actor, musician and photographer of our latest collection Richard Autner.

Acting

However, he definitely plans to continue his acting career. You can still see him in performances at three Bratislava theaters. "I really enjoy playing all the characters that are left to me. Jánošík (at the Aréna Theatre, ed. note), where I play the main character, is a production that, thanks to the collaboration with a historian, offers the audience a comprehensive picture of how the legend with the name Jánošík came about. In Pressburger Fight Club (at the Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav Theatre, ed. note), which we premiered last season, I play Imrich Lichtenfeld, who is a fascinating figure in Bratislava's history. I also really enjoy playing Laurie in Little Women (at the Slovak National Theatre, ed. note). He is an extremely cheerful guy who loves life. And I also enjoy playing in the fairy tale Nebojs , a fearless young man who travels and wants to save his beloved. They are really my favorite productions," says Richard about his current characters.

In addition to theater, you can also see him in several projects on television. But he still has one dream character. "I really want to play someone with Tourette's syndrome, which has fascinated me for a long time. It's a huge challenge for me. But every character is a challenge."

Music

Although Richard enjoys acting, it feeds him and he wants to continue to do it, he needed to put it aside a bit in his life to make room for other arts. "Music entered my life while I was studying at the conservatory. My parents gave me a tiny electronic piano for Christmas, which I plugged into my computer and played whenever I needed to. That's how all my songs came about. From an inner need to say something," Richard describes how his first album, Answers , was born, which he released in 2021. The songs on it were created gradually, over several years. "When my best friend Marek Žilinec, now the drummer of our band, came into my life, I realized that I wanted to pursue music more professionally. For many years I made it myself at home, but he inspired me to record songs and start giving concerts." Richard's band today, in addition to the aforementioned Marek, consists of pianist Martin Christov, bass guitarist Milan Koyš, wind instruments Karol Šípoš and Ján Slezák, and guitarist Boris Čellár. The songs that Richard creates musically and lyrically are his personal statement. The upcoming second album should be released early next year. "The poetics of the songs will be very similar to the first album. In them, I still deal with my favorite topics such as death, self-love, love. When creating lyrics, I come from myself, I want it to be personal. I don't think there's any point in writing about something I haven't experienced. Lyrics that come out of me have more value to me. You can certainly write about events that someone else has experienced, but I follow the path of my own feelings and experiences."

Marek Žilinec is also behind the idea of ​​combining Richard's band with the music of Martin Geišberg . "Maťo makes nice, deep music. Marek decided that my music was similar and it could work together. Originally, we were only supposed to play a few concerts, but we've already had about ten and so far, always with great success," Richard is looking forward to and inviting everyone to their big joint concert on November 11th at the STARS Auditorium in Bratislava .

At the beginning and end of the concert we always have a drumming session, which is spontaneous and we basically do whatever we want. That's probably the most beautiful part of the concert for me. I enjoy transferring energy from us to the people and back.

Photography

"My first contact with photography came in 2016, when I was at a point where I didn't know what to do with my life. My parents lent me money for a camera and I started taking photos. I posted a few photos on social media and in the amateur section of National Geographic, where people commented on the photos. Once a National Geographic photographer liked my photo there, and that really encouraged me." Despite his initial enthusiasm, Richard stopped taking photos and sold his equipment. However, this spring he felt the desire to get back into it. "I bought new equipment with my own money and started taking photos. And it got to the point where I photographed Alain Delon's fall clothing collection . And I'm still very happy about it. I hope that I will someday be able to make a living from photography, in parallel with acting and music." He doesn't have any favorite locations, he takes a lot of photos in the forests of Záhorie, and in the summer he discovered places in Slovakia thanks to concerts. However, his dream is to take photos in Norway, India, Nepal, and Tibet.

For me, acting and music have their charisma precisely in that live performance. While a photo, when you click it, is lifeless, it will remain static, until social networks are deleted or the world ends.

When we approached him about collaborating, he was immediately coming up with ideas. "When I looked at your new collection, Stupava immediately came to mind. I love, and I make no secret of it, everything British and Nordic. It's similar to me in some ways. I like foggy, gloomy weather, and I could immediately associate it with an overgrown, angry guy with a mysterious look in his eyes. And the fact that you gave me freedom and identified with the idea made me enjoy it. Because I could also realize my idea of ​​the photos I wanted to take sometime in the future. You actually offered me the opportunity to realize myself."

Books

It is clear that art as such is Richard's job and hobby. When he is not creating, he likes to cycle, exercise, spend time with his family and dog. And he reads. "I love books very much. I love reading classics. The books that have resonated with me the most in my life are Johann Wolfgang Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. I have read it three or four times and I have always read it as if it were a different book, because each time I have found something new, different in it. At first glance, it once seemed to me a book about death. But today I perceive it as a book about life," describes Richard Autner, his favorite book. His favorites also include the philosopher Marcus Aurelius , and the top three are rounded out by his favorite author Herman Hesse . "For me, he is a magician of the pen and the king of literature. I even have his signature tattooed on me." Richard is gradually transforming his passion for literature into his own book , which will be a bit of a fairy tale for adults. "Although the story is more tragic than fairy tale. The book itself is very positive, but I feel that I have the opportunity to teach people more about those negative topics. I want to transform all the philosophies that shaped me into the book."