Picasso

I watched a segment about Picasso on the CBS Morning News this morning. It showcased his work and talked about his style and influence on the art world. He's known for his abstract work, but he also painted portraits of people that look romantic and soft. Many 20th century artists such as Jackson Pollack were inspired by Picasso. I am fascinated by the art world, mainly because I have no artistic talents whatsoever when it comes to drawing or painting. I look at art and wonder what in the world was going through the person's mind when he or she created a piece. What does it mean? Why did they create it? Some pieces I don't understand. During the summer of 2004, I taught at a creative writing workshop and team taught with a University of Houston writing student. We took our seventh graders to the Menil Museum to write about the art there. I remember one piece of art being a painting of two or three shapes, like a square and two rectangles or two rectangles and a circle. I really don't remember exactly what was in the painting, but I do remember being shocked that it was considered a masterpiece because it looked so simple. I said, " I could do that!" Josh, the writer, said, "but you didn't think of it. He did." I didn't know how to answer that. He said, "Why don't you do it?" He wasn't being mean, he was just trying to make me see the piece in a different way. That's what creating is: making an idea concrete. With any art, it's the same premise. A person can have a great story idea, but until it is put on paper, it's still just an idea. I drive around Houston a lot and see some really neat places for photographs. Great ideas! And I don't make them real. I need to start making my ideas live.