PeterVeit
Biography
Peter Veit is an Austrian author and artist most known for his graphic works and deconstructed texts. After an apprenticeship as a retail salesman and with an interest in art as a self-taught artist, Veit worked as an operator for the Institute of High Energy Physics in Wien from 1974 to 1978. Simultaneously, he began publishing his written works in anthologies and literary magazines, such as Manuskripte, Protokolle, and Neue Texte. In the late 1970s, Veit’s production expanded further through drawings and watercolors of shadows, silhouettes, portraits, stylized hands, and hearts. Most of his drawings are characterized by a minimal color palette, as Veit mostly resorts to black and occasionally color on off-white paper for his graphic works, showcased in monochromatic drawings such as Nicht ich hoffe Du verstehst nicht? (1981) and Fernseh -> Helm (1981). In 1994, he edited La composizione testuale del Teatro delle Orge e dei Misteri 1957–1962, together with Herman Nitsch, a close friend with whom he would collaborate on multiple occasions. Among his literary experiments, Geschichten vom Alphahund Omega (Ritter Verlag, 1998) showcases a deconstructive approach to literature, the book being a montage of first and last sentences from roughly 4,000 books and other publications. The quoted material was then partly alienated, changed, and adjusted according to Veit’s preferences to challenge the meaning of the words and their relation to each other. Veit has received a number of awards, including the Junior Scholarship for Literature of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education and the Arts (1978), the Special Prize from the Walter-Buchebner-Gesellschaft in Mürzzuschlag (1979), the Promotion Prize for Literature from the Theodor-Körner-Stiftungsfond (1983), the Book Bonus from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education and the Arts (1984), and the Recognition Award for Literature of the Province of Lower Austria (1992).
