Hans-Günther Kaufmann can claim a dubious honor: With his "glances of light" he arranged the last appointment in the Waitzinger basement on Friday evening, which will then close by the end of the year due to corona.
We asked the Miesbach photographer for a few thoughts on the subject of Corona:
Mr. Kaufmann, the subtitle of your “Lichtblicke” was “The longing for the origin is the longing for a new beginning”.
This is reminiscent of the time before Corona.
Strictly speaking, however, it is a utopian longing for things to be the same as before.
I think you can get rid of that.
And that's also good that it won't.
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This was Hans-Günther Kaufmann's appearance in the Waitzinger Keller
Why?
It depends on the point of view.
You can see the downfall in an event like Corona, but also a new chance to discover happiness.
Whereby luck is a volatile term.
What is certain, however, is that happiness cannot be measured in terms of gross domestic product.
In an international comparison, the people in Costa Rica are the happiest, and they are demonstrably not doing as well as we are.
Germany, on the other hand, ranks 57th.
"A new chance for happiness"
What do you see as an opportunity?
To find the simple life again.
Not to complain about what you don't have, but to be happy about what you have.
How are you with Corona?
I've survived completely different things.
That programs you differently.
I am 77 years old and have never been sick.
I still remember what bombed Munich looked like after the Second World War.
If you know about such a dimension, you see things differently.
"Regulations as a kind of self-defense"
But many are afraid of the future.
That is surely correct.
I was recently in Italy and Spain for three weeks.
I was in the corona risk area, but I wasn't careless and kept my distance.
And my test on return was negative.
But you also need luck.
These regulations, which apply now, are, in my opinion, a kind of self-defense.
But what else can you do with these numbers?
I would have done it that way too.
"It is an exceptional time"
Even though you as an artist are now affected by it?
It is just a factor that politicians pay attention to voters - even if restaurants and hotels are not hotspots.
I think that it is more the young adults who say: “We want to live.” But there are times when it just doesn't work.
We live in an exceptional time.
And the only thing that helps is looking ahead.