Around the Falls 1979

Editor: This is Pierre Alechinsky’s “Around the Falls,” a mixed-media piece created in 1979. I'm struck by the contrast between the whimsical border and the almost stark, somewhat eerie, landscape within. What exactly am I seeing here, and what do you make of that stark contrast? Curator: It’s interesting, isn’t it? That inner landscape, executed with ink drawing, whispers of a primal scene, something elemental yet vaguely threatening. Think of a memory, half-forgotten, viewed through the playful, kaleidoscopic lens of childhood, embodied by that colorful border. It's a painting with a story to tell, one where memory and fantasy intertwine. Editor: That idea of half-forgotten memory…it makes me see the inner landscape as almost dreamlike. Do you see the ‘falls’ as a literal waterfall or more of a symbolic representation? Curator: Perhaps both, or neither! Alechinsky often invites us to feel, not just see. Maybe it's less about the specifics of a waterfall and more about the *idea* of cascading, of movement, of nature’s powerful yet eroding force. See how the border acts as a frame, a container for something wild and untamed? Does that resonate with you? Editor: Yes, the container aspect does. Like taming wildness… or maybe trying to understand or contextualize something raw and untamed? Curator: Exactly! And that tension, that dialogue between the wild interior and the structured border, is where the piece truly sings. What began as unease blossoms into a conversation. The artwork reminds us that the edges we place on reality influence what the whole portrays. Editor: That’s a perspective I wouldn’t have considered without this discussion! The tension really adds depth. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. Perhaps it's that very push-and-pull that makes art so delightfully enduring.