RSS FeedMy day with Picasso
It was raining outside and I had just got back home from a gym/physio session where I pushed myself a little too hard.
I had read about the Pablo Picasso exhibition at the Tyler Print Institute Singpore from a flyer and was eager to see the show, so with umbrella in hand I ventured out into the city.
After about 30 minutes of walking, I realised I was pretty lost. As always, Google Maps saves the day and I realised I was closer than I had originally thought.
I found myself at the entrance just as rain drops started to pelt me in the face. I made my escape up a black staircase and through a set of glass doors to the exhibition space.
The first series I was introduced to was like seeing an old friend.
I was looking at Picasso's Bull series of 1945 entitled The Bull. I remember writing about this work in art school; it helped me to understand the importance of drawing when creating form/space.
To give you a little history, the Cubist’s main aim was to represent that which cannot be seen all at once. Instead of depicting one viewpoint they aimed to foresee from all angles. They wanted to see everything, not just a moment, an entire environment. The main reason in doing so was to represent the subject in a greater context, relating to depth and of course space.
Picasso was the founder of Cubism along with George Braque. He used a kind of observational dissection in The Bull across 11 lithographs. The first image we are confronted with is a physical organic shape, generous in mass. At this early stage your eyes recognise it to be a bull. As the series continues, Picasso begins to deconstruct the bull, breaking him down, drawn with minimal lines and various geometric shapes. He constantly alters the linear appearance in order to redistribute balance in the composition. You're left looking at a collection of lines, which your mind recognises as a bull not because of its shape but because of the lines that indicate its surface mass and weight. The lines now exist, consumed in the task of representation.
You can see further examples of Picasso’s method of working as you continue through the exhibition in his work Two nude Women. This series is made up of 18 lithographs. The two women like the bull change and contort until we are left with abstract shapes. It’s a beautiful window into Picasso’s mind and even heart. I remember hearing that the women in the prints were his lovers, Francoise Gilot & Dora Marr. The figure in the foreground denotes Picasso’s secret lover.
You begin to realise how important the women is his life were to his art, you can also see an interesting use of colour choice in his Lino cut series Woman with a hat where his last wife Jacqueline is pictured. He truly created art for love, or is it a Love of making art from Love?
There is also an enchanting interlude of photographs of Picasso in his home/studio by David Douglas Duncan. It certainly is worth going to see if you have the time and what makes it even more wonderful is the exhibition is completely free.
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite Picasso quotes, it always gives me a fire in my belly to start making work. Pablo Picasso will always be a tremendous force, never to be replaced.
“What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who only has eyes, if he is a painter, or ears if he is a musician, or a lyre in every chamber of his heart if he is a poet, or even, if he is a boxer, just his muscles? Far from it: at the same time he is also a political being, constantly aware of the heartbreaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. How could it be possible to feel no interest in other people, and with a cool indifference to detach yourself from the very life which they bring to you so abundantly? No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.”
Pablo Picasso
BLH
You can also view a slide show of the Bull series by clicking here... BULL
Quote take from: http: //www.goodreads.com/quotes/335037-what-do-you-think-an-artist-is-an-imbecile-who
Posted July 17, 2013 23:18