Islands in the River 1982

Editor: This is Aline Feldman’s "Islands in the River" from 1982, a mixed-media print. It’s a curious landscape…the colors feel so playful, but there’s a certain starkness to the geometric forms. It reminds me a little of aerial photography, actually. What do you see in it? Curator: It makes me think about how we perceive and simplify the world around us. Notice how the river isn't a smooth, flowing curve, but segmented, almost like fractured memories. Feldman's choice of medium, a print, lends itself beautifully to this idea of fragmented impressions. Does it perhaps hint at a feeling, for you? Like longing, or maybe even dislocation? Editor: I hadn't considered the 'fragmented memories' aspect, that's interesting! I was mainly focused on the bold colors and almost childish simplicity. Dislocation, definitely - I feel I’m neither close nor distant from this landscape. The water seems almost solid! Curator: Precisely! It challenges our assumptions, doesn't it? She is really abstracting nature, reshaping it according to an internal landscape. How do you think the "folk-art" element described in the metadata changes our reading of this scene? Is there a relationship to ‘naive art’ and seeing the world anew? Editor: The "folk-art" aspect suggests a less formal, maybe more emotional approach? Almost like Feldman is tapping into a child’s imagination of a river landscape – more about the *feeling* of a river than a technically accurate representation. Curator: Yes, perfectly said. So, a child's map of the world then, but with the soul of a cartographer searching for inner islands of meaning. Editor: I love that – “inner islands of meaning.” Now I see so much more in what seemed a deceptively simple picture! Thanks! Curator: And thank you for seeing with fresh eyes. Art’s all about shared perspectives, isn't it?