Carlos Gerbase
Zero Hora, 31 outubro 2017
My father was a doctor, my mother a housewife. They had two daughters, both doctors, and four sons: two engineers, a doctor, and myself, the closest thing to an artist to come out of this respectable offspring. What happened with me? Any unexpected mutations in my DNA? It’s difficult to talk about environment and education, since the six sons and daughters followed very similar trajectories in childhood and adolescence. But they didn’t read the exact same books, or listen to the same records, or go to the same dances. And, as popular wisdom says, it’s the balls that spoil people.
Most likely it was a little bit of everything. Some powerful event from my past—reading Monteiro Lobato’s A Chave do Size, dancing to a Chuck Berry compact, or watching The Nutty Professor paying more attention to Stella Stevens than Jerry Lewis—interacted with the genetic mechanisms that made my personality, and the result is this “I” that I carry today, for better or for worse. Ready! I just found a scientific explanation for my artistic bent.
But the reverse path is also common. My sister Maria, a doctor and scientist, makes beautiful videos of her travels. My brother Zeca, a mechanical engineer, is an incredible photographer. My brother Luiz, an electronics engineer, is now a drone pilot and tells stories using high technology. My sister Andréa, a dermatologist, is an antiques collector. To top it off, my brother Antonio, a doctor specializing in public health, starts his show “Relevos Oníricos – Monotipias” on the 6th, at 19:00, at the Paulo Capelari Art Gallery (Rua Cel. Bordini, 665). I bet Dr. José and Dona Léa never considered putting so many artists in the world.
Physicist David Bohm explains that both the artist and the scientist need to “discover and create something whole, beautiful and harmonious. Deep down, it’s what a large number of people in all walks of life are looking for when trying to escape the monotonous daily grind.” Art and science, then, are two sisters busy with the same task: replacing boredom with creation. And we, Gerbases, are busy too. At least until it’s time for the next dance.
