The hostel was close by. They offered to store my things for the day before I went out for adventures. When I checked in, I was happy to see the walls painted with graffiti. I walked upstairs to find my room, where I could smell spray paint. There was something being painted at that moment! I followed my nose and found two artists from Newcastle, England. who were installing a stencil mural in the upstairs common space. Their names were Chris and Jamie. After years of preparation, the two had made the committment to becoming full time artists. They bought a van, cut stencils, and arranged a mural tour through Europe. Over the past few weeks, they'd traveled through Belguim, Germany and Switzerland, painting murals in hostels in exchange for free accommodations. With the support of thier local community (notably a paint sponsorship), a passive income stream in the form of a rental property back in England, and an active income stream in the form of selling stencil paintings in markets, the two of them have found a sustainable lifestyle for the time being. I was thrilled to meet them and hear their story. They were excited to share anything and everything, and I feel informed as to how to embark on a similar journey should I choose to do so.
After talking with them for some time, I made my way to Beyeler Foundation. Basel is not a particularly large town, but it is beautiful. Beyeler Foundation was featuring works from Thomas Schütte, one of the foremost contemporary artists. I drew studies of two sculpture pieces from the collection, each of which took 30-40 minutes. After the Schütte exhibition, I continued through the Museum to see works from Picasso, Manet, Monet, Matisse, Calder, Rothko, Klee, Modrian, Giacometti, and others. I was struck by the beauty of the collection of Calder sculptures, which were of a much larger scale than I'd previously seen from him. A room of paintings from Rothko also had a strong effect on me. I felt that Picasso's paintings dominated the space. My affinity for his work is growing substantially. His boldness and exposed techniques provide many invitations into his paintings. It's refreshing to see a painting that communicates effectively without hiding behind a bag of tricks. I believe a Picasso painting to be an efficient work of art.
I bought some groceries after leaving Beyeler, and made sandwiches for myself and the boys at the hostel. We hung out while Chris painted stencils on old twelve inch vinyls, (which is their road-merch). The hostel had asked to buy ten of them. Once Chris had finished, they set out on the road for Baaden, where they would install mural number nine on their European tour.
So tired... Tomorrow I plan to go to Kunstmuseum.
