Old Rooftops 1968

Curator: Looking at Petros Malayan’s “Old Rooftops,” dating back to 1968, I immediately sense a stillness. It's a watercolour, and there’s almost a ghostly quality to the scene. Editor: I see what you mean, there's a subdued palette that definitely lends itself to that mood. The roofs almost seem like pale tombstones amid that urban setting. Knowing the context, what were the art trends during that period and can it be reflective in the art? Curator: Well, Modernism was certainly in full swing. It was a time of reckoning with the past, trying to create something totally new. I think Malayan is subtly echoing that in his focus on decaying urban landscapes. You know, what symbols do you see emerging? Editor: It's an interesting tension. He doesn't give us a vibrant, bustling city; instead, it's the residue, the echoes. I keep getting drawn back to the rooftops themselves, the repeated geometric forms – the squares and rectangles feel almost like symbols of structure struggling against the flow of time. Even those deep shadows feel weighted. The composition suggests societal changes, or perhaps, a sense of nostalgia. Curator: It could easily represent memory, faded yet persistent. This could certainly represent some subtle political messaging, or that sense of looking backward that tends to crop up amid social shifts. It is evocative, almost mournful. Editor: Do you think the watercolour medium plays into that mood? Compared to the bold assertiveness that one might associate with oil, the delicate washes here are so ephemeral. Curator: Precisely. And look how the light interacts with the brushstrokes; almost fleeting glimpses rather than harsh realities. In cultural memory, these old cities can serve as time capsules, filled with memories that transcend generations. This is true with the art piece. Editor: This certainly isn't just a simple cityscape; it carries much deeper symbolic weight, hinting at societal anxieties about modernity and change through that very distinctive muted lens. This old rooftops may look decaying, but that is were we get a piece of ourselves. Curator: It leaves one to consider how memory interacts with urban environments. There's a delicate tension between tradition and progress, echoing the timeless dilemma society grapples with. It reminds one to tread lightly to not get stuck to one over the other.