[ExI] Picasso

[PJ Manney]

On Jan 28, 2008 6:21 AM, Jef Allbright <jef at jefallbright.net> wrote:
> Apropos recent discussion, a favorite Picasso quote is "Art is the lie
> that tells the truth."

And apropos to bringing it back to those prickly writers, every art
history student knows the story about how Picasso painted his friend
Gertrude Stein's portrait in 1905-06.  He struggled with her face,
finally painting it in a manner reminiscent of an African mask.

When friends complained about Stein not looking like her portrait,
Picasso said, "She will."
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/p/picasso/stein.jpg

And she did.
http://www.rochester.edu/theater/dramaturgical/gertrudestein.jpg

In fact, it was their conversations about William James and psychology
(among other things) that helped inspired Picasso's grappling with
visual abstraction to push the boundaries of what was recognizable to
the eye and brain.  That in turn inspired Stein to abstract language
and do the same.

PJ