Neighborkid Holly's Art Review of Florence Putterman's Painting

Today I went on a tour of homes that are of the Sarasota School of Architecture.  I was curious about the ways in which these relatively small, modern homes cultivate a quality of enchantment, and how they might contribute to a spirit of not only homeyness but also neighborliness wherever they are built. 

One of the homes we visited was that of Florence Putterman, who is a local artist.  She was present during the tour and was handing out books with prints of her paintings, and I was lucky enough to get a copy.    

When I got home, neighborkid Holly was on my front stoop, ready to surprise me with a chalk note she had written for me on the front walk. 

I told Holly about the architecture tour and showed her the book of paintings by fellow Sarasotan Florence Putterman.  Holly was interested in the paintings, so I asked her if she could show me which one was her favorite, and then tell a story about it. 

 Here’s the story she told:

It’s think it’s about Indian stuff, where, I see some Indian stuff right there.  There’s trees and there’s persons in it and they’re in the forest with a whole bunch of animals.

[Who are the people in the forest with a whole bunch of animals?]

That one would be Florence.  That would be some guy, that’s a guy and that’s a girl, and that’s a guy.  I don’t know what that is…

[So what are they doing in the forest with the animals?]

They’re trying to hide their selves ‘cause they think they don’t have no pants and stuff on. 

[Oh, that’s kind of like Adam and Eve in the Bible, huh?  And then what happens?]

And then when they get out of the forest they’re going to pick a leaf and hide their…you know…

[Hide themselves, sort of cover themselves up with those leaves?]

Yep.

[OK.  Anything else about that story?]

No.

[Anything else you want to say about the paintings in this book?]

Oh, I like the paintings.

[What do you like most about them?]

I like the animals and the people in them.  And the decorations. 

[I like that too.]

Later in the day, I read the introduction to the Putterman collection of paintings that was written by David Cleveland, who was introduced as “an art writer, independent curator, and novelist who regularly reviews for ArtNews.”  Here’s how he described Florence Putterman’s art:

“Florence Putterman’s free-spirited art is a bewitching brew of fantastic imagery…floating forms of animals and humans…from…Indian petrography.  … Everything about the work speaks of joy’s discovery…a phantasmagoria of playful beings, both human and animal, though given the free interaction in what seems like some Edenic setting, their roles are interchangeable.” 

Seems 8-year-old Holly was right on.  Wow.