Reviews of ZEN on Honolulu Star Advertiser

The Surfer’s Journal
www.surfersjournal.com
2006, Volume Fifteen, Number Five
Zen and the Art of Surfing Book Review: Steve Pezman

School of Hard Knocks
Zen and the Art of Surfing: A Collection of Short Stories by Greg Gutierrez,
published through a grant from the Julian Paz Foundation.


Gutierrez’s exuberant outpourings (his paintings list for 15 grand) and hard-knock writings that appear in surf pubs are now collected in book form. Simply viewed, they are raw energy spews mixed with liberal doses of testosterone and sensitivity: part Pollack, part spirit forms swimming in the miasma. Imbued in the often child-like renderings are the themes of seasoned wisdom.

In person, Gutierrez appears as a mild-mannered Clark Kent whose persona belies a ferocious alter ego. The Clark Kent side teaches history at Chula Vista High School of Creative and Performing Arts, while the other – the tough guy who charges big waves, solo hunts blue-water pelagics, and kicks bad ass when absolutely pressed – writes autobiographically of his life experiences and is obviously well aware of that which equates to sophisticated levels of expression in both his chosen mediums. Unquestionably he has chops in both. Yet, the paradoxical rawness of his work can cause one to ponder whether it’s high concept or not.

You are wondering what I think? As for his writing, I very much enjoy his macho, touching, defiant men’s reading pieces. As for his paintings, two small marine mammals-in-the-void hang at home and a portrait he generously made of me, with broken board at Sunset hangs ceremoniously over the commode in the TSJ men’s room, where I and our myriad male visitors collectively spend many hours a year, staring at it intently.