Gain culture from Picasso

By Jason Civjan
The Friendly Forgoer of Fun

Guide to Star Ratings

As far as the Atlanta art scene is concerned, the Olympics were the best thing that could have possibly happened to this city. This is primarily embodied by the relationship that has developed between our own High Museum and the Museum of Modern Art stemmed from the Rings exhibit on which that they collaborated for the Olympics.

The fallout from this relationship has, thus far, been beyond anything that the Southeast could have ever imagined. In the last two years, we have had the luxury of viewing the most extensive body of Matisse's works ever to be put on display in the Southeast. For anyone that checked it out, it was a truly awesome experience that none will ever forget. The High deserved kudos for their masterful handling of the whole exhibit and putting together a one of a kind presentation that was too perfect for words. Now, the High is presenting, in association with the Museum of Modern Art, the works of, arguably, the greatest and most influential artist of the twentieth century... Pablo Picasso.

Picasso (1881-1973) was not only considered a master of almost every modern style of painting, but was the originator of many of the artistic movements of the twentieth century, the most notable of these is the Cubism movement. Cubism, in essence, is the breaking apart of conventional forms and forcing them onto geometric planes. By doing this, the artist could show a normally hidden side view of a three dimensional figure on a painting of its front view by forcing it onto the frontal plane of the work. The most amazing example of this is the painting Girl With a Mandolin where Picasso catches the girl's dancing movements through separating the 'frames' of her movement and then putting her back together with all the frontal pieces that don't represent the girl representationally, but captures her movement abstractly. Absolute genius! Perhaps he explained this idea the best... "Of course, when I want to make a cup, I'll show you that it is round, but the overall rhythm of the painting, the structure, may force me to show this roundness as a square".

As far as the works that are shown in this particular exhibit, there is much missing, but there also is so much here. Missing are many of the painter's most renowned works, although there still are a good many, and the selection of works from painter's early blue and rose periods is disappointedly very bare bones. However, there were many fascinating works that were a quite obscure in the exhibit and a very good cross section of all of Picasso's later works.

All I can say is that everyone that reads this must go to the High and check this exhibit out. Picasso is a one of a kind master in the art realm and this exhibition of his work is proof of this. I must also urge you to spend three or four hours (the tours are only 40 minutes in length) really examining the works. It is amazing the way that Picasso's works can easily be understood by simply taking a few steps backward from the work, or leaning in for a closer look. This just opens up entirely new worlds that cannot be grasped through simply looking at the works... you must examine! (the wonderful work The Architect's Table was, by far, the most obvious example of this phenomena). The audio tours this time aren't as interesting or as detailed as the ones that accompanied the Matisse exhibit, but are still helpful in understanding the artist and his work. Picasso was unique in his playfulness, sense of humor and biting observations that saturate his canvasses. So, don't let the opportunity to get up close and personal with these masterpieces of modern art pass you by. The exhibit runs from November 8 through February 15 and is only $9 on weekdays and $11 on weekends for students. Call the High for more information at (404)733-4400... enjoy!

Questions or comments about this page? Feedback