Plate IV from the portfolio Papiers Traités 1978

Editor: Let’s talk about Plate IV from the portfolio Papiers Traités by Pierre Alechinsky, created in 1978. It’s a mixed-media piece that combines drawing and collage. It feels quite chaotic, a swirl of abstract shapes surrounding a central, almost grotesque face collaged onto a ledger paper. What do you see in this work? Curator: Well, it’s interesting you describe it as chaotic. I see that same sense of tension, a visual representation, perhaps, of the uneasy socio-political climate of the late 70s. Alechinsky, linked to the CoBrA group, often grappled with automatism and spontaneous expression, which can be read as a challenge to established norms, in both art and society. The collage elements, fragments of bureaucracy and personal correspondence, seem to be invaded by that expressive drawing. What do you make of the central face, and its positioning over those official documents? Editor: The face definitely strikes me as confrontational, even angry. It is like this primal scream disrupting the neat, orderly world of ledgers and stamps. Almost as if it’s rejecting that system. Curator: Precisely! Think about the role of institutions, the power they wield, and how artists, particularly those with a surrealist leaning like Alechinsky, often aimed to disrupt those structures. The face, raw and unfiltered, acts as a visual rebellion, reclaiming personal expression from the clutches of formalized control. Even the title, Papiers Traités—treated papers—suggests a transformation, an intervention. What do you think this piece is trying to tell us about power? Editor: That the act of creation, of expressing raw emotion, is an act of defiance in itself? That even small gestures of art can challenge bigger systems? Curator: Exactly! It encourages us to consider the narratives embedded within everyday objects and to question the dominant discourses surrounding us. It shows us how we can disrupt norms. What are your feelings towards collage being used like this? Editor: I appreciate how collage as a technique can dismantle existing meanings and generate fresh perspectives through the interplay of unexpected elements. Alechinsky, it seems, isn't just creating art but rather making a statement on resistance and expression. Thanks, that definitely provides a new perspective.