847A Peace Treaty With Nature 1986

Curator: The joyful colours hit you immediately. Is this celebratory, or something else entirely? Editor: It definitely has an upbeat, playful feeling. Visually, it’s immediately captivating—all those spirals and geometric forms vying for attention. The textures give it a nice handmade quality too. Curator: Well, that texture probably comes from the mixed media used in its creation, as this is "847A Peace Treaty With Nature" created by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 1986. Hundertwasser was really interested in what happens to organic architecture in different landscapes, I see the organic here clearly as well as abstraction and expressionism. Editor: I see those recurring circular motifs, especially within the trees and, strangely, atop what appears to be a building shaped like a person. What are we to make of those concentric rings? Curator: Hundertwasser often featured spirals in his work. For him, these represented life, nature, and even the rejection of straight lines found too often in modern architecture. I suppose those forms can have a variety of interpretations depending on the viewer. It almost demands an individualized interaction. He was invested in environmental concerns and pushed back against industrial standardization. The composition here reflects that, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. The buildings, or building, actually, have a haphazard, almost childlike quality, clashing cheerfully with that more serious top-hatted form looming in the middle. This makes sense; this type of rejection of standardization comes through clearly. Is it trying to present the individual against the uniformity of industry? Curator: It could also reflect a yearning for an integration of nature and architecture. He abhorred uniformity and actively sought ways for individuals to create personalized, organic spaces, which also explains his choice of landscape, cities and buildings, as a major style to work around. The very title proposes a need for reconciliation. This, against the background of the rise of urbanization in the 80s, calls attention to an interesting issue in architectural history. Editor: Well, viewed this way, it provides a strangely optimistic resolution, doesn't it? A call for balance. Thanks to his specific iconography, the artwork has changed for me; now I see his pursuit to address his generation's anxieties. Curator: Indeed. Seeing this "Peace Treaty", you see how much we may learn about anxieties around the changing forms in this particular slice of history.