Neubacher, who in 1969 joined up with Goeschl, Kriesche, Haberl, Hoffer and others to create the producers’ group pool, was mostly active as a graphic designer. As such he completed significant works for the art magazine pfirsich, the avant-garde festival steirischer herbst, the Company HUMANIC and others. His posters, which were always based on artistic concepts, were internationally renowned and awarded. The overall picture of applied arts and austere forms of fine arts created a unique tension that defined Karl Neubacher’s artistic practice.
The medium most used by Neubacher was photography. Moreover, his own body, which he employed in performances and which he documented using photographic and film media, was just as important: he himself turned into a ‘public art figure’. The short films created in the 1970s make Karl Neubacher one of the hitherto undiscovered avant-garde film-makers.
Although his output received international attention, his work today has almost been forgotten. The output was somewhat narrow, partly because of the the artist's early death, and never found acceptance in the art market, not least of all due to the artist’s own intransigent attitude. An extensive retrospective of this exciting and progressive work is thus highly advisable, and recalls Graz as the bastion of the avant-garde in Austria.
