Flores 1971

Editor: So here we have "Flores," painted in 1971 by Aldemir Martins. It's an acrylic on canvas, and the colours are just popping. It almost feels like a psychedelic garden. What stands out to you about it? Curator: Psychedelic, yes! And consider the date - 1971. Suddenly those bold colours make even more sense, don't they? Martins plays with Fauvist principles here - using unrealistic colors to convey emotion. But it's filtered through a Brazilian sensibility. Are those tropical blooms or something else entirely, abstracted? He’s not just painting flowers, he’s channeling feeling. Does it evoke a specific emotion for you? Editor: I think I get a sense of joy. Maybe even defiance. It is like saying I can create nature the way that *I* want to see it. So what is it saying culturally, being created in Brazil? Curator: That's a brilliant interpretation. Now, think about Brazilian art in the '70s. There was this incredible energy, this bursting forth even under…difficult political circumstances. Perhaps this abstracted flora is not *just* a garden, but an assertion of vibrant life, of self-expression itself. Notice how flat the picture plane is – there’s almost no sense of depth. It is declarative. Editor: Wow, that gives the work a whole new level of meaning. It moves beyond a still life. Curator: Precisely! These choices by Martins transformed it into an act of pure, unadulterated creative joy. Even rebellion, would you say? Editor: For sure. The painting made me smile initially. Now I have a deeper understanding of how that smile became. Curator: I agree, that bright rebellion made me reflect as well, thank you!