Thus, this was when and how I discovered Brasília : my childhood. And this is when I grew familiar with the names of its creators, including that of the city's official buildings, a name that already had its share of marvels, a name par excellence, a poem of a name, resounding with exotic sonorities for a boy living in France at the end of the 1960 : Oscar, then. Niemeyer. Oscar Niemeyer. Brazil. Brasília. I vaguely grasped that there was an architect behind that photograph. And if there was any, that was his name : Oscar Niemeyer. Architecture was a mysterious profession, as alluring, as mythic and as blessed with supernatural powers as that of the astronauts on Apollo XI, other heros of mine at that time.

And then there was this city, whose existence I discovered so suddenly in black and white in a dull magazine I would not have read normally. The caption on the next page also gave the name of the president who had decided to build Brasília. Juscelino Kubitschek, a name as strange as that of the architect, presumably a mix of Spanish and Czech. But then, why was he president of Brazil, I wondered? Alongside the name of the urban planner of the new city was marked : Lúcio Costa. Urban planner? Unable to grasp the role of the man who masterminded the "Pilot" Plan of Brasília (and God knows how important this role was, as I finally understood when I abandoned childhood), I lost interest, and focused on Niemeyer and Kubitschek only. In my defense, it must be said that the Pilot Plan was not shown in the photo, so I couldn't realize how important it was.

All one could see were Oscar Niemeyer's buildings. Period. And that's how I fell head over heels in love with Brasília.

Later, when reaching the age of man, expressing this passion through my painting became naturally obvious.