Compostion I 1962

Editor: This is Matta’s “Composition I,” a print made with ink in 1962. I'm struck by the combination of hard-edged lines and swirling forms – it feels both precise and chaotic. How do you approach a piece like this from a historical perspective? Curator: Well, Matta was deeply embedded in the Surrealist movement, a movement fundamentally concerned with the subconscious and the liberation of the imagination from rational control. Thinking about its production in 1962 is interesting. What kind of mood and socio-political conditions do you think shaped the artist when producing such an abstraction in a post-war, atomic age? Editor: I guess there’s an anxiety there, a sense of fragmentation reflected in the broken lines and overlapping shapes, the planes seemingly askew. The three bright, perfectly round and red spots catch the eye in particular. Curator: Exactly. Those could symbolize anything from rising suns or the threat of rising fallout, and this kind of ambiguity is precisely what makes it surreal. Post-war art often grappled with societal fragmentation. Where do you see that playing out here? Is it only the literal breakdown of forms, or something more? Editor: Maybe it's the challenge to find meaning, the unease of a world constantly shifting. Like the floating architectural shapes – are they hopes, memories, or just remnants of a shattered past? I’m thinking more generally now that abstraction allowed Matta and his contemporaries to confront these themes without depicting trauma or anxiety literally. Curator: Yes, by 1962 many of the surrealists had shifted their imagery towards greater abstraction reflecting a disenchantment of the post war world, but not by direct reference like photography could provide. Understanding these socio-political anxieties opens a whole new window to understand these artistic choices, doesn’t it? Editor: Absolutely, I never really looked at Surrealism as so interwoven with social and political elements. Curator: Indeed, this allows for a richer experience and appreciation.