Living Fictions: The Forest Paintings by Hugo Fortes

Abstract

This essay proposes five questions about the forest paintings by Hugo Fortes, a professor, artist and researcher who works with the relations between art and nature. The text is written as a letter. Although it is addressed to the artist, the letter is thought as if it is sent to everyone who is interested in the connections among art, culture and environmental education. The questions are related to artistic procedures, the various ways of seeing and reading paintings, the ways in which previous concepts can limit perceptions, the articulations between art and environmental education and the pedagogical intentions (or lack thereof) of creative gestures. While reading, various answers can be imagined and other questions can be constructed. Besides this, the text can activate unpredictable resonances. To sum up, nowadays there are many extreme climate events and the more they happen, the more sensitive aspects are necessary in pedagogical practices about nature.