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NorBert attard

Born in Malta
lives and works in gharb, Malta

norbert Attard describes his art as. a voyage of discovery. In a certain sense, all artistic endeavors could
be, and has been, described in this way. Where the metaphor of the artistic voyage has been used, the ten-
dency has been to distinguish between those artists who are engaged in an’ inward voyage of discovery into
their own souls - the, romantic voyage of self-exploration and those engaged in exploring the outside reality
of the physical world, like the cubists and the impressionists. If we retain the metaphor, Attard places himself
squarely in the first category, as an artist preoccupied with matters of the soul. Form, he says, more or less
takes care of itself. He has a natural feeling for it. This is because, besides being arguably one of the three to
four most important Maltese artists of his generation, Attard is also a practicing architect.
One would therefore anticipate his sensitivity to the external world, and his interest in exploring and pro-
posing his own particular formal organization of it. His interest in the ‘internal’ world, however, comes across
in equally palpable ways, beginning with the contemplative, spiritual phase of his late graphic works, which
culminated in his Mandala series, but also in his Mihrabs and Kimonos, which are equally infused with a mystic
quality. This is even more so in his abstract work. early on, Attard showed a particular interest in social issues.
This is probably traceable, to some extent, to his then connections with the avant-garde Henri dogg theatre
company, which was directed by Mario Vella. His stage and set designs for his company, and, his experience of
the theatre in general, have had a lasting effect on his work. There are traces of theatrical organization of space
in his composition which can be detected even in the abstract work of 20 years later.
(PrOF. KenneTH WAIn “the other siDe oF the DiViDe,an analysis oF the work oF norBert attarD”),
artiCle in an aBriDgeD ForM

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