A Passion for Hope

Mariano Akerman was born in Buenos Aires in1963. Architect and historian, he is also a multi-disciplinary artist. In an exclusive interview, he

shared some of his thoughts on art and life. According toMariano, a painter should no longer be a slave of reality.“Today we need to create a better reality, not just imitatethe existing one.” Mariano reminds us of the words ofAntoine de Saint-Exupéry, “it is only with the heart thatone can see rightly; what is essential is invisible.” MarianoAkerman is convinced that, “appearance is not essence,but mere accessory.” Long ago he deliberately chose not tobe a painter of appearances.

During the 1960s and 1970s, he received art lessonsfrom his aunt Moroca at the Pirouettes Studio. As a painter,Moroca had a surrealist approach. She taught the art ofautomatism and stimulated her students’ free association

of ideas. A generous teacher, Moroca used to share hergouaches and brushes with her nephew. She had a good artlibrary and usually lent him art manuals and other booksamong which were a biography of Michelangelo, JulioPayró’s Modern Painting, and Scott’s volume DesignFundamentals. Above all, Moroca encouraged the spirit ofexploration. At Mariano’s behest, she taught the history ofart in her workshop. It is significant that it was Morocawho introduced Mariano’s early work to the Casa de laPintura Argentina (1984) and paved the way for his firstsolo exhibition at RG Fine Art (Galería Rodríguez-Gervasien Arte, 1986).

Mariano’s passion for books began in early childhood.He was particularly fond of looking at the illustrations ofthe encyclopaedia called El tesoro de la juventud (TheTreasure of Youth, c.1947), which included, among other

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A passion for hope through imagination

by Hanniya Abid and Mariano Akerman

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The painter with some of his small format collages, Islamabad, 2010

things, “some most unexpected characters” that could betraced back to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland(1865).

Another important influence was Dictionary ofModern Art. One of the illustrations in that book wasJames Ensor’s bizarre picture Intrigue (1890), whosestrange figures wore distorted masks hinting darkly atuncertain intentions. In 1967 Akerman doodled overthe illustration, which showed that the Belgianpainter’s image was important to him but at the sametime showed his desire to soften what he later under-stood to be “a grotesque masquerade.” The sense ofthe grotesque can be expressed in terms of either over-abundant or missing attributes. Still a child, Akermanthought of Henri Matisse’s Young English Girl, paint-

ed in 1947, as “incomplete”, and thus added every-thing he supposed she was longing for — eyes, nose,mouth and eyebrows.

As the eleven-year-old prize-winner of a Reader’sDigest art contest, Mariano received a book whose subjectmatter delved into the strange, the astonishing and the trulyextraordinary. Immersion in this book had a profoundeffect on the young boy, carrying him in a sense from therealm of reality into the realm of the imagination, where hewould often feel most at home. Another powerful stimulusto Mariano’s young creative sensibility was earlyNetherlandish painting that included the amazing configu-rations of Hieronymus Bosch.

As a teenager, Mariano had breakfast once a week withhis grandfather in a cafeteria not far from his home. Once

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Mariano Akerman, Nothing of Kiss Me a Lot,

gouache, 1979

Mariano Akerman, The Way I Love You, pencil and

watercolour, 1989

breakfast was over, Mariano’s grandfather would buy himthe informative weekly issue of the Salvat Student’sEncyclopedia (1981-82), which was particularly rich inillustrations. It was in this encyclopaedia that, at the age offourteen, Mariano discovered Francis Bacon’s disfiguredfigures.

During Argentina’s period of dictatorship and repres-sion, Mariano’s art teacher at D.F. Colegio Sarmientowas Professor Iglesias. Unusually for the time, shetaught in an unconventional and stimulating fashionthat encouraged all her students to express themselvesfreely. On one occasion, Prof. Iglesias brought to classa number of art reproductions and asked each student topick out the one that interested him the most. The chal-lenge was that each would remake the artwork he hadchosen in his own way. To a teenager the expression “inyour own way” could have been a problem, but this wasnot the case in this instance. Mariano chose FrançoisGérard’s Psyche Receiving the First Kiss of Love(1798), for in that image he found “some sort of tender-

ness.” He painted the mythological protagonists in sur-real terms. Called Nada de Bésame Mucho (Nothing ofKiss Me a Lot), the resulting picture was exhibited atthe Ministry of Education and, contrary to all expecta-tions, was highly praised.

Professor Iglesias’ exercise provided Mariano with anexcellent opportunity to exercise his imagination. Tryingto “find his way” to remake Gérard’s image, he had boughtan extraordinary book written in English entitledSurrealism. Struggling with his limited grasp of the lan-guage, the young student found himself attracted to thework of Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Joan Miró, MaxErnst and Yves Tanguy.

In 1979, Mariano participated in a youth drawingcompetition in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and won aprize. A Visit to the House of My Aunt Moroca was thetitle of his surreal prize winning entry. His next paintingwas Rococo Soirée in the House of a Medieval Princess,a picture fusing abstraction and the imaginary. Aroundthat time, an art critic wrote that Mariano Akerman dis-

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Mariano Akerman, Three Figures by a Window, watercolour and mixed media, 1989

tanced himself from banal preoccupations, suggestingunexpected experiences: the ones belonging to theempiric-meditative creator.

Mariano’s first solo show, “Fiber Transformationsand Sweet Tales,” took place at RG Fine Art in May1986. The show included a gouache entitled Crystallineand other imaginative works, many of which were con-ceived with mixed media. At that time Mariano wasstudying architecture at Universidad de Belgrano inBuenos Aires. He completed his education with a gradu-ation project in 1987. Another art critic, MoniqueSasegur, detected important elements in his work and inan article of hers entitled A Vital Message she wrote, “Afirst approach to the pictures reveals a draftsman whodominates line, colour and space, sure of what he wants.If we look for a formal structure, this is obvious. But,there is also a strong thematic basis: the work of thisartist has an interesting vital message. Here, the simpledoes not exclude the profound. The undulating forms ofthe natural, the vegetable, the animal, and the excellence

of the human figure, which sometimes adopts the formof other living beings,” all of them confirm this princi-ple. “Akerman’s theoretical formation rests on his archi-tectural career; the rest is lived experience which heincorporates into his work. Technical requirements leadhim to an attitude at once refined and playful. Gouache,markers, colour pencils, collage, ink, and all the archi-tectural tools create the desired effects. One of the aimsis the active response of the spectator who can partici-pate in the artistic game only by adding a personal doseof imagination and fantasy. In this way, the picaresqueeyes of the personages meet those of the witness, whomust differentiate figure from background. But, do theyactually merge? Too oriental or too decorative? Onewould say ornamental, expressive, and powerfully hope-ful.”

A second solo show at Faculty of Graduate Studies ofUniversidad de Belgrano (1988) was known as “Of Shelland Content,” an expression conveying the artistic notionof form and meaning as inextricable. Such an idea is

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Mariano Akerman, Microcosm, mixed media collage, 1991, 2005

entirely consistent with Oscar Wilde’s understanding of artas both surface and symbol. In the exhibition catalogue,Akerman quoted the words of André Maurois, “Art givesthe spirit what the world denies it — the union of contem-plation and peace.” In the exhibited drawings and water-colours, one could find “unusual voluptuousness, dream-like enigmas, and beauty, all of them unfolding exuberant-ly” (René Olivieri).

Mariano’s third solo exhibit, “Ten Paintbrushes throughDeep Waters,” was inaugurated at the Bank of BostonCultural Foundation in 1989. Three by the Window, one ofthe pictures exhibited, was described by art critic TeresitaPociello as a work whose mobile structure evoked Miró.Yet, according to her, the impact of Mariano’s picture was“americanista,” as it epitomised the imaginative qualitiesthat are “typical of from the American continent.”

While one may or may not agree with Pociello’s ideas,it is noteworthy that Three by the Window was inspired bytransatlantic sources such as Carroll’s imaginary charac-ters and Bacon’s Three Studies for Figures at the Base of aCrucifixion (1944), an image Mariano first knew througha Tate Gallery catalogue from the early 1980s. Yet Bacon’spicture conveys despair, while Akerman’s speaks of hope.It is in this sense that Akerman’s message finds expressionin select images which provide the artwork with “the mys-terious charm of things seldom seen by the human eye”(Zulema Vaini).

“Ten Paintbrushes through Deep Waters” was inaugurat-ed with a series of telling remarks by poetess BettinaSandrini, “There is a precise and delicate line in Mariano’swork. As he depicts forms and details, his inner richness isexpressed in terms of joy. In this way, his characters dreamand grow up under skies, specially created by him in orderto convey the better world he aspires to. Through a patientdistillation, Mariano brings innovation into the visual arts.”

Such innovation relates to Mariano’s use of the imagi-nary. As Giordano Bruno once put it, “the fictitious imagecarries a truth of its own.” This is true in Mariano’s pic-tures where a certain symbolism is undoubtedly present.Yet the artist is reluctant to discuss this aspect of his work.“Sometimes,” he comments, “to talk about your own workis as necessary as dance is to architecture.” Even a tree inbloom has some of its parts buried underneath.

Writing from the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes(National Museum of Fine Arts), in Argentina, JorgelinaOrfila indicates that “with secure hand and controlleddrawing, a prolific imagination finds expression inMariano’s work. His technical knowledge intermingleswith a profound introspection, and an almost obsessivedesire to transcend the formal, to convey deep meanings.”

Mariano Akerman has exhibited in solo or group showsin a range of countries, including Argentina, Spain, Japan,The Philippines, Sweden and Pakistan. He has been award-ed twelve major international prizes. Today he expresses

himself through water-based techniques such as water-colour and gouache. He likes to make collages and draw-ings as well as sketches and designs. Technically, Marianouses brushes in his own way and style, at times conscious-ly leaving aside traditional or conventional approaches.While prizing creativity and inventiveness, the painter alsorecognises that the past will always be present in hisimagery. After all, he is an art historian as well as an sartist.

Mariano’s painting style is intricate, precise, richlysymbolic and wholly personal. His strikingly colouredand textured paintings suggest a world of fantasy; yet oncloser inspection, the various shapes and colours hint ata vital concern with real-world events and experiences.Some critics consider Mariano’s development as apainter has been a matter of refinement of techniquerather than of dramatic stylistic change. Others areimpressed with his sensitivity to all kinds of culturalmaterial, which could be a reflection of his intellectualtraining and life experience. Thus sensitivity is com-bined with an ability to empathise with the most diversecultural traditions and societies.

Resident over the last twenty years in Asia, Marianothinks of himself as a bridge between various cultures andtraditions. Now living in Pakistan, his current concerns areart and education. Commenting with enthusiasm on thedistinctive patterns in textile and truck decoration,Mariano talks of Pakistani trucks as “mighty modern ele-phants.” Speaking of his first visit to Lok Virsa, which washis introduction to Pakistani material culture, Marianoobserves, “It was a great experience and impressed me alot, due to its multi-traditional dimension.”

Of his experience in Pakistan in general, Marianosays, “Not even for a second have I had the feeling ofbeing an alien in this country.” Asked to comment onPakistan’s attractions, Mariano prizes its natural beauty,which he says gives him peace of mind. He appreciatesthe variety of the seasons. Considering the political situ-ation in Pakistan, Mariano rejects its portrayal as a prob-lematic country, mostly because “good things and badthings happen everywhere these days.” Mariano valueslife. He is convinced that a dialogue between traditionand modernisation is both possible and necessary. As anartist, he rejects the idea of a world without diversity.“Imagine the world as completely uniform. Would youlike to live in a place where everyone looks identical,does exactly the same things, speaks only one languageand always thinks in the same way? Even the mostardent champions of technological development wouldagree that such a world would be sad and boring. Itwould be a catastrophe, the triumph of mediocrity. Onesees value in cultural diversity. God has created a worldbased on the principle of diversity, not uniformity. Yousimply have to contemplate nature for a while. There isvariety everywhere.” q

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