Objecto não Identificado - XLII 1968

Curator: Alright, so here we have Nikias Skapinakis' "Objecto não Identificado - XLII" created in 1968. Editor: Wow, it bursts with a retro energy, almost like a deflated parade float designed by someone who deeply loved jazz. Curator: I love that! Skapinakis, during this period, was heavily influenced by Pop Art and this piece absolutely echoes that aesthetic through its hard-edged geometry and bold use of acrylic paint. But I also see threads of modernism, even a futurist striving for abstraction. Editor: Absolutely. The geometry is doing a lot of the talking here, isn’t it? Yet, despite that rigidity, there’s an almost playful quality… maybe in the colours or the arrangement? It's as though rigid forms are attempting a chaotic dance, or is it escaping something else? Curator: Precisely! The "unidentified object" suggests that there’s an element of mystery at play, leaving its definition open to interpretation. Now, what's interesting is how these works intersected with, and reflected the socio-political atmosphere. What kind of dialogues do you think such pieces sparked with the society around it, editor? Editor: Skapinakis was very committed politically, in the thick of it all, I find myself considering how the piece might have worked in shaping the mood, given the authoritarian regime that he actively stood against and fought to undermine. Was this 'object' resisting some kind of definition, eluding authority? Curator: Very astute observation. It prompts us to think about how art can operate as a form of resistance, how it can act as subtle commentary, even during oppressive times. The 'unknown' object, in a way, mirrors a public sense of displacement or questioning that existed during those moments in society, which would echo widely to those able to perceive them in coded forms. Editor: Exactly. Today, seeing it in a gallery feels a little disconnected from that immediate context, yet its underlying mood still resonates, inviting us to question fixed definitions. Curator: It’s incredible how the impact of the piece transforms over time isn't it? I initially saw some colorful floating wreckage but now? It feels like I am drifting on a colorful escape pod into abstraction. Editor: Haha, exactly! In the end, who needs identification, let's embrace the unidentified escape route that awaits us.