I have been SO remiss in posting on my blog, that I am trying to "catch-up" a little this week. In May, Mary Carol and I went down to NYC to see the Picasso "Guitars" exhibit. Although the focus of the catalog (and title) for the exhibit was on the guitar form, I was struck by the essence of all of the work (i.e., not just the guitar images) in terms of Picasso's exploration of collage itself and of collage as part of truly "mixed media". I have read in various art books that Picasso originated collage as a legitimate medium in modern fine art, but was invariably disappointed when authors typically relied on the same single image to illustrate this [see the ocre-colored guitar piece with the blue rectangle in the upper center entitled "Guitar, Sheet Music and Glass" (1912)].The exhibit at MoMA included SO MANY more pieces which served as a testimony to Picasso's genius with regard to collage (Picasso never seems to disappoint!). It seemed to this naive observer that Picasso was not so much interested in collage as a single medium, but as a means to explore the possibilities of intergrating images. Some of the "collage" elements in his paintings are actually paper elements; but some of the elements that look like paper are actually painted (e.g., the faux woodgrain). I was also struck by the simple collage elements that were included in his charcoal drawings. They were minimalist, but exquisitely placed! I particularly like the piece with the "J" precisely cut at its origin. Enjoy!
