Pondering a Picasso
There is nothing more disconcerting than finishing a blog post to near-perfection, pressing 'publish' and then being met with 'ERROR'. This is exactly what happened to my post on Mr Pablo Picasso and other fascinating anecdotes from a visit to Tate Britain some time ago.
A few weeks have passed since then and I feel somewhat recovered from this blow to start this post again. So here goes:
One weekend in late April my friends and I lunched on a medley of Kati Rolls from Soho and headed for an exhibition of Piccaso's work in London at the Tate Britain.The delicious kati rolls deserve a separate blog post to themselves, so I focus here on food for the soul rather than food for the stomach.
I hadn't been to Tate Britain for over 5 years. It is the first of the existing four Tate Galleries in UK, set up in 1897 to house a collection of art owned by Henry Tate who had made his fortunes as a sugar refiner. More history about the galleries can be found here.
Back to the exhibition on Picasso and Modern British Art. I'm not sure what we were expecting but one thing was undeniable- here was a person truly creative, a prolific artist who inspired many other modern artists. Picasso lived till the age of 92 and is one of the more fortunate artists who found fame within their lifetime. It was interesting to see how his artistic style changed dramatically from his early youth (the Blue Period) to Cubism - a form of art that is credited to him and a close friend George Braque.
To us amateurs, the complex 'cubist' features in many of the paintings showed how Senor Picasso's eyes saw the same things as everyone else did but his brain was able to represent people and objects in a completely unique way. Our whole experience was enhanced by the bright, open space at Tate Britain just as we enter the gallery.
However, I don't claim to be an expert in the subject. My main thought after the exhibition was that a Picasso is best hung away from the dining area of a house. The wizardry of distorted eyes, ears, legs and arms make an unlikely appetiser.
As we left the Picasso exhibition our modest gallery tour had taken on the form of an art-binge as we found ourselves heading for the exhibition on 'Migration: Journeys into British Art' (part of the double-deal ticket that some of us, true to our blood, just couldn't resist). Here, I found art that I would indeed hang in my dining room (ladies in pretty pink and blue dresses, scenes of 18th century London). Some of the paintings here seemed to be in the Impressionist art style, which to me is a bit like seeing things through the eyes of a nosy neighbour, i.e. fun.
Overall, I'd say the visit was a success although it did leave some of us a bit dazed....
And just for the record, if anyone plans to gift or bequeath me a Picasso, please do not let my unflattering comparison of art styles or temporary art-exhaustion stop you. I promise to offer it a pride of place (probably in a high security safe).
A few weeks have passed since then and I feel somewhat recovered from this blow to start this post again. So here goes:
One weekend in late April my friends and I lunched on a medley of Kati Rolls from Soho and headed for an exhibition of Piccaso's work in London at the Tate Britain.The delicious kati rolls deserve a separate blog post to themselves, so I focus here on food for the soul rather than food for the stomach.
I hadn't been to Tate Britain for over 5 years. It is the first of the existing four Tate Galleries in UK, set up in 1897 to house a collection of art owned by Henry Tate who had made his fortunes as a sugar refiner. More history about the galleries can be found here.
Back to the exhibition on Picasso and Modern British Art. I'm not sure what we were expecting but one thing was undeniable- here was a person truly creative, a prolific artist who inspired many other modern artists. Picasso lived till the age of 92 and is one of the more fortunate artists who found fame within their lifetime. It was interesting to see how his artistic style changed dramatically from his early youth (the Blue Period) to Cubism - a form of art that is credited to him and a close friend George Braque.
To us amateurs, the complex 'cubist' features in many of the paintings showed how Senor Picasso's eyes saw the same things as everyone else did but his brain was able to represent people and objects in a completely unique way. Our whole experience was enhanced by the bright, open space at Tate Britain just as we enter the gallery.
However, I don't claim to be an expert in the subject. My main thought after the exhibition was that a Picasso is best hung away from the dining area of a house. The wizardry of distorted eyes, ears, legs and arms make an unlikely appetiser.
As we left the Picasso exhibition our modest gallery tour had taken on the form of an art-binge as we found ourselves heading for the exhibition on 'Migration: Journeys into British Art' (part of the double-deal ticket that some of us, true to our blood, just couldn't resist). Here, I found art that I would indeed hang in my dining room (ladies in pretty pink and blue dresses, scenes of 18th century London). Some of the paintings here seemed to be in the Impressionist art style, which to me is a bit like seeing things through the eyes of a nosy neighbour, i.e. fun.
Overall, I'd say the visit was a success although it did leave some of us a bit dazed....
And just for the record, if anyone plans to gift or bequeath me a Picasso, please do not let my unflattering comparison of art styles or temporary art-exhaustion stop you. I promise to offer it a pride of place (probably in a high security safe).
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