Meditated Vandalism – Studying Gen Atem in Zurich

27 October 2018 · 21:10 · VenRod

Zurich – 27 October 2018, 21:10. The Ole Ole Bar, a corner table, DeeNice's notebook open at a fresh page.

A pioneer from close by

For our second study we stayed at home. Gen Atem, born Anton Wettstein in 1967 in Frauenfeld, started painting trains and walls around Zurich in 1982 and is counted among the pioneers of European street art. From 1986 to 1994 he lived mainly in New York, where he staged letter-sculpture battles with Rammellzee. Later he spent years in Buddhist monasteries and was ordained a Zen priest in 1999 – and came back to painting with what he calls "Meditated Vandalism".

We saw an exhibition with his work this afternoon. The paint bombs, thrown with full attention, look wild from far away and calm from close up. DeeNice stood in front of one for a very long time without saying anything. That's rare.

How it went

We talked about patience for two hours. Can you be calm and loud at the same time? DeeNice thinks yes – and that this is exactly what a crew needs. Questions for later: What changed in your painting after the monastery? Can attention be taught? What do you remember from the letter battles in New York?

Some artists teach you how to paint. Some teach you how to breathe. – DeeNice

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