In the opinion of the interviewee Carlos Aitor Castillo, the artist “is inevitably contemporary,” since human beings evolve, both materially and spiritually. However, given the current period of “dehumanization” and limits on artistic expression, nonfigurative painting is unsuitable for Latin America today. In any event, it is a trend that is winding down. Moreover, Castillo considers the European influence harmful in Latin America, a region which he regards as now artistically mature. He does admit that though Peru has the requisite conditions for a national art, as yet, there is no true “Peruvian painting,” because unfortunately, artists bear “the stamp of the milieu around them.” He laments the fact that the scarcity of stimuli in Peru impedes the progress of mural painting (in his opinion, more significant than easel painting). Castillo concludes his interview with a report on the Asociación Nacional de Escritores y Artistas (ANEA), an organization of which he is a director. ANEA is actively seeking legislative financial support for the development of art in Peru.

In this interview with Eduardo Moll, a German artist and critic living in Peru, the interviewee Carlos Aitor Castillo presents his arguments on the contemporary nature of his painting. He believes that the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Galería Lima is a sign of artistic progress in Peru, noting the high level of interest shown during the recent exhibition of art created in Cuzco.

In late 1952, Eduardo Moll (b. 1929) conducted a series of interviews with well-known Peruvian artists that were broadcasted on Radio Callao and subsequently published in the Semanario Peruano 1952. The prior year, the debate about Abstract art—stirred up by statements made by the painter Fernando de Szyszlo (b. 1925)—made the public aware of the issues under discussion by Lima’s intelligentsia. [See the ICAA digital archive, “Dice Fernando Szyzlo [sic] que no hay pintores en el Perú ni América : el joven pintor peruano declara sentir su pintura y la de los demás pero no puede explicarla” (anonymous) (doc. No. 1137793).] Such issues included the artist’s social commitment and the possibility of truly “Peruvian” painting. These matters were the focus of the interviews performed by Moll, who was able to gather a broad spectrum of opinions due to the diversity of the trends to which the artists interviewed belonged. On the one hand, Moll’s interviews feature artists who were open to the “nonfigurative” concept, such as Szyszlo himself [“Me parece que no hay otra pintura que la europea” (doc. No. 864956)], Ricardo Grau (1907–70) [“Encuesta: Ricardo Grau expone sus puntos de vista sobre la pintura y sus escuelas” (doc. No. 1150493)] and Alberto Dávila (1912–88) [“Reportajes” (doc. No. 865093)]. On the other hand, the series includes interviews by Moll with artists who were critical of Abstract art, such as Juan Manuel Ugarte Eléspuru (1911–2004) [“Pintura : reportaje a Juan Manuel Ugarte E.” (doc. No. 864995)], Sérvulo Gutiérrez (1914–61) [“Sérvulo Gutiérrez opina llanamente sobre pintura y sobre pintores” (doc. No. 1150441)] and Carlos Aitor Castillo (1913–2000) as well as the academic sculptor Romano Espinoza Cáceda (1898–1957) [“Reportaje a Romano Espinoza Cáceda” (doc. No. 1227158)].