Imagine Cosmica 1972

Editor: Here we have "Imagine Cosmica," created in 1972 by Gil Nicolescu, using acrylic paint. The colour palette is very moody, mostly dark hues with pops of brighter colours here and there. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Immediately, I consider the socio-economic factors impacting Nicolescu's material choices. Acrylics gained prominence for their accessibility. Was this choice born from a constraint or a conscious embracing of a readily available material reshaping art production in a post-war era? How might that have influenced his art? Editor: That's interesting. I was focused on the visual, but I hadn't really considered the material itself as part of the meaning. It does seem that there's an immediacy about it. Curator: The layering is also significant. Notice how the brushstrokes almost deny a hierarchy. The material is just as important as what's portrayed; consider the relationship between artist, tool, and outcome, rejecting any romanticism. How does the application technique affect your experience of it? Editor: I guess I'm seeing the artist's hand much more clearly. The swirls of green do evoke this sense of a cosmic landscape. Curator: Exactly. "Cosmica" challenges these conventions through its direct, material presence. I wonder how it might respond to viewers outside of this museum? Editor: Now that I think about it, my initial interpretation of the colors and shapes didn’t include thinking about how art-making can become democratic with cheap supplies, especially in the '70s. It really reframes everything. Curator: It shows how we interpret artworks, isn’t it? Art is more than images, shapes and colors - its the making and its story as well!