Draw it once, twice, & again
Picasso and drafting ideas
Hi Friends,
This week I landed on Picasso, which felt like I was retrograding back to another era of my life because he is one of the first artists I ever learned in art school. Picasso is foundational for me and therefore often ignored in my own artist toolkit. He is quite the “legend” and definitely a monolith in art history. I am always skeptical of anyone given “genius” status, especially overly published male artists (sorry). I have to say, I got quite the boost in the studio this week looking at his drawings because— the man was going for it and was exceptionally prolific.
I found a level of play and whimsy in his work that surprised me knowing that he lived and worked through World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II. There was a lot of upheaval happening around him continually, which perhaps lended to a particular dynamism and restlessness in his own practice. Josep Palau writes in his essay The Great Adventure on Picasso:
“I do not believe that so self-demanding a creator has existed, one who allowed himself so little respite, free time or ‘vacation’ after each victory…the respite and post partum inactivity, necessary to be distanced from oneself and be renewed, would seem to be the…guarantee of all human creation. [But his] revival begins from his own point of departure.”
