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In Reply to: Re: Picasso...the overrated hack? posted by highendman on April 14, 2002 at 10:31:02:
Next time you're in Paris, check out the Picasso Museum. His drawings alone place him in a category quite above the considerable skills of V G. Then, take into account the complexity of Picasso's development beyond Cubism, i.e. the Blue and Pink periods. Well, V G is like the Beatles, every one likes him. He's very accessible for the masses, being one dimensional.Oh, by the way, Picasso is also generally considered one of the finest sculptors, in many mediums (clay, metal, etc). Regarding influence, he is indisputably the most important artist of the last 100 years. But, hey, some folks don't like Michelangelo...
I must say, in closing, it is outrageous to find an audiophile extoling the virtues of a gentleman who chopped off one of his hearing organs!
Follow Ups:
Restaurant in Las Vegas. No kidding. It's no doubt even more of a treat if you're a fan of his art.I'm going to San Franciso on the 24th and will most probably check out the SFMOMA. Maybe the "Torso de femme" (which looks like one of his better efforts) is more impressive in person. If I have anything positive to post, I'll make sure to do so. Otherwise, I'll keep my mouth shut which I should have done in the first place.
I AM a fan of the Jon Lovitz "Picasso" sketch on SNL.
Funny about the ear chopping.When I was in Paris, I didn't go to the Picasso museum -- I should have and will check it out next time. I have seen various periods of his and have never been impressed. Last year I viewed a few of his sketches showing at the Matisse museum in Nice (I really liked the Chagall museum as well, even though he was quite warped). I didn't make it to Paris last year (just visited Cannes, Nice and Monaco in May -- Cannes is great fun during the festival). In Paris, I only took in the museum for "the masses" -- the Louvre. By the way, I love the modern geometric entrance to the Louvre. (This is another viewpoint that would get me blasted by traditionalists, but feel the design is outstanding and appropriate).
I like many other modern and impressionist artists including Pollock, Pissarro, and many other lesser known artists in addition to standard favorites such as Manet and Monet. Still, I never get tired of Van Gogh -- especially in person -- just amazing composition, color and texture. I find some of Pollock's paintings absolutely stunning in person. Pollock would be one who is not typically for the masses and one I greatly prefer to Picasso.
They have a tremendous collection of modern work at the Albright Knox museum here, which I've enjoyed many times over the years. My family has a couple paintings from local artists who became quite well known -- Walter Pechownick and Walter Garver. For a while, growing up, I had a Walter Garver painting in my room. I feel it's one of his better works a slightly abstract depiction of a Dutch boy with his toy windmill. It's quite different from most of his offerings, and I think miles better. I prefer either of these relatively unknown artists to Picasso.
Picasso could be considered an artist for the masses, really. He's just as well known as Van Gogh. We all have different tastes. My view on Picasso is not a popular one, especially among academic types. I haven't had a Picasso discussion in well over 15 yrs and perhaps shouldn't have gotten into it. There was a time when I was well versed on it and used to like to discuss it. Even as I've aged and now like jazz rather than r&b, I don't like Picasso any more. As far as the Picasso's go, I think Paloma has done better work than Pablo.
There is a reason many people like the Beatles and Van Gogh -- they're good! I think Picasso's paintings brought more money in relation to Van Gogh's paintings 20 years ago than they do today. The Van Gogh's have been priced out of this world in recent years, which has not surprised me.
What do you mean with " warped" ?
Basically what I was talking about was his fixation with angel/Jesus/devil themes (with a side order of roosters/chickens?)and their portrayal.For example, "Abraham et les trois Anges" is an enormous canvas (all of his paintings in the gallery are enormous) of overwhelming dark red with three angels holding chickens(?) as Abraham looks on.
There was an after-world theme to many of the paintings in the gallery and some of them really struck me as funny or over the top. They reminded me of that comical painting in "Mickey Blue Eyes" where Jesus is mowing people down with a machine gun.
Not that I didn't like the paintings -- quite the opposite -- they just struck me as a little bent.
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