Birds I 

Curator: Looking at "Birds I" by Małgorzata Serwatka, a striking naїve-art oil painting, I immediately think about the conditions of production – the accessibility of oil paints, the artist’s relationship to her tools and materials. It’s unburdened by academic technique, focusing on direct, material application. Editor: I see a folksy charm, definitely! The rough textures of the oil give it this warmth. Something very comforting, almost domestic about it. Curator: Absolutely! It is art operating outside of the elite gallery system. The textures, the way the brushstrokes are clearly visible, suggests a very hands-on relationship with the medium. A sort of craft aesthetic. And consider the social context of its reception – how does something like this navigate the established art market? Editor: Good point! This feels rooted in a specific time, even without knowing the date of execution. I find myself thinking of Audubon’s work, but with an entirely different approach to naturalism. Those scientific illustrations intended for mass dissemination had an agenda—disseminating natural knowledge. Where does this one sit, politically? Curator: Indeed, its very naiveté becomes a point of potential critique or acceptance. What does it mean when something escapes, or exists outside, the institutional definitions of art and artistry? Editor: And then the depiction of the animals—they aren’t mere portraits; they embody a sort of idealized rural life, right? The brushwork itself, so overt, pulls the image out of any aspiration to slick, marketable realism and toward this celebration of unpretentious craft and production. Curator: I agree! The artist clearly delights in the application of paint, transforming these common cuckoos into emblems of an art making tradition which is at once distinct from and informed by high-art techniques. Editor: The fact that the Polish name for cuckoo and information about the birds' colouring are written on the top is a very quirky addition; somehow that makes it more "folksy", not so stuck up with art world rules. In a way, they stand outside art and craft definitions, so that the whole idea and perception is in constant renegotiation. Curator: I'd say the painting and production circumstances provide context to renegotiate with traditional museum practice and how we position art within a social structure.