Oswaldo Goeldi, o fantástico e as ambiguidades contemporâneas

Abstract

To grasp the ambiguous nature pertaining Oswaldo Goeldi s theme is a challenge the artist poses to those who are somewhat involved in an ordinary and superficial approach of everyday life. In creating a fantastic atmosphere, Goeldi manages to make its scenery, beings and objects even more unclear. Moreover, because viewers are struck with the perplexity of his artwork, it is impossible to adopt a definite concept on the character of this artist s drawings and prints which lies between the borders of lights and shadows? In comparison with fantastic literary genre, which features a world ruled by individual uncertainties, according to Tzvetan Todorov in his Introduction to Literature Fantastic , one may glimpse two conditions into Goeldi s art: either his depicting element is an illusion or imagination or it actually exists just like other living beings despite being hardly ever found. Life or death? Real or unreal? Therefore, Goeldi may be regarded as an expressionist painter living an inward and outward boarding reality. So far such an issue has remained timeless as it may be seen in the works by Nuno Ramos, José Rufino and Willian Kentridge