We recently got to catch up with Max to talk to him more about his artwork and life as an artist.
Tell us a little about Max Shultz
I work at a plant nursery. I’m also studying computer electronics at TAFE. I went to Wesley College and did a lot of artwork there. I have also done other TAFE courses on art and craft, digital design and graphic arts. I live in Carlisle with my parents. My interests are electronic games, going out to eat, and I also like going to the shooting range. I really like watching big projects like the new stadium and Elizabeth Quay being built. I also like art, especially painting.
Where do you create your art, and what materials do you use?
I don’t actually care too much about noise levels. We’ve got a special room set up for art at home.
I’ve used acrylics, and sometimes my iPad. The mirror piece used a lot of different materials, including wooden bits, mirrors, photographs and printing. I have done a sculpture, Megatron, which is made of scrap metal. My Omega Man sculpture is made of plaster and other bits of scrap like my old glasses. But most of my work is acrylic paint. I also make large Lego structures.
What’s your favourite piece?
My favourite type of art is generally abstract stuff. My greatest effort is Omega Man. I think it looks good.
Which is more important to you, the subject of your painting or the way it is made?
I think that I like my paintings and other artworks because I am saying something about me and how I feel.
Does the fact that you are on the autism spectrum help you or not help you in developing ideas for your artwork?
I like to do a lot of things that younger people do, like Lego, anime and animation, so sometimes I wonder if my autism makes me still feel young or if it means I can come up with any smart specific ideas that some other people couldn’t even think of. Sometimes I think about different things that maybe “normal” people don’t.
Do you reflect your life such as your interests, dreams imagination in your art?
I do, especially for my mirror piece. The mirror work was a really big project for me, as part of my Year 12 assignments, and I gave a speech about it on the last day of school, in front the whole senior school. It is all about my life, things I have done and the people in my life and possibilities for the future. A lot of my art is about me, whatever is going on, and what I am thinking about.
Max and Ana – 2017 Autism West Symposium Art Exhibition
