TALKING TO NIKOS ENGONOPOULOS
BY: Boukara Ifigenia, Adamidi Irini
The archive is never just a storage space. It is a place that carries memory, narratives, human presence. In the case of Nikos Engonopoulos, Greece's leading surrealist, the rescue, classification and future public presentation of his archive by the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA) is an event of the utmost cultural importance. This opening, scheduled for December 2025, gives the general public the opportunity, for the first time, to get in touch with the creator not through his published works, but through his personal traces: notes, drafts, letters.
Starting from this rare accessibility, the podcast "Talking with Nikos Engonopoulos" was created, an educational audio document, which seeks to illuminate his personality and work through the archival material itself. The podcast was based not only on external sources, but also on the evidence available to the Athens School of Fine Arts.
This paper analyses how archival material can function as an active pedagogical tool and not just as a historical source. It focuses on how art, when approached through its evidence, acquires a new dimension: more personal, more open to creative reception. Guided by the podcast, it explores how a surrealist creator like Engonopoulos is presented and how his work
It is "unlocked" when we treat it not as an object of analysis but as an experience.
Detailed description of the project
The archive as a source of understanding and not just documentation
The archive is not just a collection of objects. It is a living organism that speaks. And in the case of Nikos Engonopoulos, what "speaks" is much more than his CV or published works
his. They are his words, his sketches on the back sides of letters, the rough, unfinished human evidence of his everyday life.
The decision of the Athens School of Fine Arts to open this material to the public is not just a gesture of transparency or academic intent. It is an invitation to approach a creator not from the top of his pedestal, but from the side of his desk, where the works were still being formed. And this invitation, when combined with modern storytelling methods such as the podcast, acquires special power: because the evidence acquires sound, and the sound brings presence.
In the presentation that frames the podcast, many photos are marked "file document". This simple indication has an essential meaning: it shows that what we see is real, authentic, has passed through the hands of the artist. From Engonopoulos' stamp that says "painter", to the manuscript of his biography or the notes on draft paintings, every piece of evidence tells a story.
Apart from the stamp and the notebooks, the references to how he dealt with his work are particularly impressive. He did not see it as a product, but as a process. Each draft reveals an artist who doubted, who was constantly processing, who never rested. And this side of Engonopoulos, so human, is the one that hardly passes through reports or articles. The archive, however, reveals it.
Engonopoulos thus becomes not only a symbol of the Greek artistic avant-garde, but also a creator with a personal voice. Having his manuscripts in your hands or reading his notes on student assignments, as happened at the Athens School of Fine Arts, gives you the feeling that you are not just reading Engonopoulos, but listening to him.
Engonopoulos as a "citizen of the world, deeply Greek"
Nikos Engonopoulos was an artist with a rare dual consciousness: international and at the same time deeply connected to the Greek tradition. He was born in Athens in 1907, but grew up for a time in the
Constantinople and later lived in Paris. This multicultural experience left its mark on his work. Its cosmopolitanism is an internal synthesis.
Engonopoulos' archive highlights this timeless quality. Among the documents are letters from travels, notes in French, as well as manuscripts with a keen interest in Greek history and mythology. In one of his letters, he speaks of the need "to return to ourselves not with fear, but with faith", a phrase that also functions as a personal saying.
Greekness in Engonopoulos does not seem to be a patriotic slogan. He said: "Greece is not an issue. It's a way of seeing." And this is exactly what is recorded in the archival material: his way of seeing Greece, not as a historical burden, but as a creative source.
Through the archive and the narrative of the podcast, the portrait of a man who, while he could move comfortably in the international artistic field, chose to redefine his relationship with his homeland, unfolds. Engonopoulos painted Greek Saints and heroes, but placed them in surreal landscapes. He wrote about Bolívar, but with a voice that came out of the past of ancient Greece. This side of the artist is revealed more clearly through the documents of his everyday life, which are included in the archive: newspaper clippings, old photographs, handwritten notes for classes.
The tables as "interlocutors" of the archive
Nikos Engonopoulos' paintings are never just images; they are narrative, history, poetry without words. They do not remain static works on a wall, but become living interlocutors of the viewer. In the presentation that accompanied the podcast, we see works such as "Orpheus, Hermes and Eurydice", "Cavafy", "Mercurius Boas", "The Civil War".
Engonopoulos' figures are characterized by immobility. They are often reminiscent of Byzantine icons or statues. They don't have a strong expressiveness, they look at the
blank or internal. Through the evidence in the archive, we see that this was not a coincidence. He noted: "I want my figures to stand as ideas, not as people." And this aesthetic choice is reflected in his evidence, in his thoughts on lighting, the position of the body, the absence of perspective.
The podcast as an educational bridge between the archive and the listener
The use of the podcast as a means of presenting the archive of Nikos Engonopoulos was not just a technological choice; it was a pedagogical choice, a conscious attempt to connect archival material with today, with people who might never read a monograph or visit an exhibition. The podcast "Talking with Nikos Engonopoulos" does not just tell a biography. It invites the listener to a dialogue with the evidence, with the artist himself, with his time.
The podcast has the character of an educational narrative. It is mainly addressed to students, young researchers, but also to listeners who love art and want to approach it in depth, but not necessarily through boring analyses. It presents information with documentation, but avoids the distance that a classic lecture can create.
From a technical point of view, the podcast is based on selected evidence from the FSFA archive. It includes references to photographs of works, personal belongings of the artist, biographical manuscripts and poems. Unlike a simple recorded lecture, the podcast is staged. The sound, the background music, the pauses, the narrative flow, create a sense of "conversation" with the artist. And this is a key advantage of the midfielder.
Another element that stands out in this podcast is its structure: it has a beginning, a middle and an end; it has a personal tone, it has a narrative and not a simple quotation. Aspects of Engonopoulos that are not widely known are illuminated, such as his relationship with his students, the way he signed as a
"painter". Through this presentation, the file is no longer "closed" and remote, but accessible and alive.
The podcast, therefore, does not only function as a playback of content; it is a pedagogical model. It shows how the content of a file can be transferred from the shelves to a new space: the space of the auditory experience.
Between painting and poetry
Nikos Engonopoulos is one of the few Greek artists of the 20th century who consistently cultivated two parallel forms of art: painting and poetry. He did not serve them successively, but at the same time, without considering the one inferior or servant of the other. Was he a painter or a poet painter? Or, perhaps, just a creator of the "in-between space" where word and image converse?
According to the documents of the Athens School of Fine Arts, he chose to introduce himself primarily as a painter. The presumption with his stamp that reads
"Painter N. Engonopoulos" is characteristic. But this does not negate his profound poetic nature. On the contrary, it confirms it. His painting was not just visual, but narrative and contemplative. Correspondingly, his poetry is full of images, colors, forms. Many of his lyrics read like descriptions of paintings. And several of his paintings function as visual poems.
The bibliography and the podcast state that Engonopoulos was influenced by Parthenis, Kontoglou. From the first he took the metaphysics of light and from the second the Byzantine simplicity. These influences cannot be distinguished between his poetry and painting. They are present in both.
His poetry collection, with main works such as "Bolívar" and "And I Love You Crazy", is not literary in the traditional sense. It is existential. It is a poetic direction of the self, of history, of dreams. The
His language is condensed, with paradoxes, irony, fragments of classic references.
The podcast uses this material to highlight the dual nature of the creator. It doesn't present him as a poet or a painter – but as a single artist who uses different mediums to express the same anxieties: love, time, identity. And this approach is perhaps the most sincere form of understanding. Engonopoulos didn't want us to read or see him. He wanted us to feel him.
Description of the Creative Process
Our original idea was to create something that goes beyond the format of a classic presentation. We wanted to try another way of storytelling that "speaks" and conveys the feel of the archive. That's how the idea of the podcast came about. The choice was not accidental. We were concerned with how the audio experience creates a more direct relationship with the content. We wanted the listener to feel that they are listening to Engonopoulos speaking through his traces.
The creative process began with on-site research in the Engonopoulos archive at the School of Fine Arts, where we photographed documents, noted excerpts from notebooks, and then moved on to the organization phase: we developed thematic units (life, archive, paintings, poetry, pedagogical dimension) that could be presented narratively. The script of the podcast was written through many consecutive versions, with frequent adaptations to the expression so that it remained "alive".
The recording was done in two phases: first a small trailer that we presented, and then the final recording using Audacity. We used a soundtrack to create a mild, thoughtful atmosphere - something that corresponds to the character of Engonopoulos himself. We paid attention to pauses, repetitions and rhythm, in order to create a result that is not only informative, but also emotional.
Conclusions - The archive as a pedagogical tool
The archive of Nikos Engonopoulos that will be opened to the public by the Athens School of Fine Arts in December 2025 is not just a body of evidence; it is a living testimony of a multifaceted creator, a man who lived and created between forms, words, silences, allusions. And at the same time it is a unique opportunity for education, research and culture to redefine the way we approach art - Not just as a product but as a process.
Through the archival material, another image of Engonopoulos unfolds: not the virtual figure of the surrealist on the pedestal of History, but the man of everyday life, of searching, of corrections, of drafts. The evidence illuminates the artist's workshop. They reveal his unique temperament and his authentic voice, behind the great works.
The podcast "Talking with Nikos Engonopoulos" was the modern narrative transformation of this experience. Through sound and narration, the archival material "comes to life" in an experiential and participatory way. The podcast, as a modern educational tool, proved that the approach to art does not necessarily have to be academically cold or distant. It can be warm, human, interactive. And it managed to do this without betraying the seriousness of the content.
This work proved that art, when read through its traces, acquires a new interpretative dimension. The archive is not just a storage space - it is a laboratory of understanding. It is not a museum place - it is an educational field. And storytelling, through tools such as the podcast, is not just an alternative medium - it is a bridge. Between then and now, between the artist and the listener.
Nikos Engonopoulos, as it emerges through this effort, is not just a "great figure". He is a man who dared to express his identity through poetry and painting, without
Who served his art with dedication and consistency. And who left us not only works, but also a way to see.
In this way, the file folder is transformed into an open notebook for the modern reader and scholar. Not to copy, but to chat. To remember that every line, every word, carries an intention. And this intention, when properly conveyed, has the power to teach, to inspire, to continue.
Introductory Note
Indicative photographic evidence from the archive of Nikos Engonopoulos is presented, as they were presented in the podcast or were a source of inspiration for the audio narration. The photographs have been incorporated in order to convey the feeling of the "living archive" and to support the theoretical and interpretative approach of the work.
In addition, it is included
The podcast "Talking with Nikos Engonopoulos"
Boukara, I., & Adamidi, E. (2025). Talking with Nikos Engonopoulos [Podcast]. Available
to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C2hEd4qQjru3IRm96D76aUtfvLn1XTPw/ view?usp=drivesdk
Bibliography
Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA). (2025). Nikos Engonopoulos Archive
- Documents and selected works[Unpublished material]. Photographic documentation and scanning of personal files.
Arseniou, E. (2024). Notes from the course "Modern Greek Literature in the Media". Department of Communication, Media and Culture, Panteion University.
CultureNow. (2020). Nikos Engonopoulos: The Greek pioneer surrealist of poetry and poetry
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National Gallery. (ch.c.). Engonopoulos
Nikos. https://www.nationalgallery.gr/artist/engonopoulos-nikos/
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Lifo. (2023). Nikos Engonopoulos: The Orpheus of Surrealism through a long retrospective. https://www.lifo.gr/guide/arts/news/nikos- eggonopoylos-o-orfeas-toy-yperrealismoy-mesa-apo-mia-megali-anadromiki- toy
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Map. (2022). Nikolaos Engonopoulos, Andreas Embiricos and his beautiful daughter, standing as they stood at his window in
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