You probably already know to expect the unexpected when it comes new experiences in college, such as things from receiving you first B (gasp!) or hearing UNC’s mysterious Arboretum whistler, but surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) college also gives you the tools to view things in a different way. Whether college gives you better information to make informed decisions or to present an irrefutable argument, it will help you to better see the world and be more flexible (or steadfast) in your opinions. In the humanities, this also happens through the use of opinions and supporting facts. Such as in an article written by Patricia Leighten in the March 2009 edition of The Art Bulletin, in which she argues that Picasso took a more active role in the politics of his time than other art historians believed.
Most of the information known about Pablo Picasso, focuses mainly on his creative genius (or lack thereof) when it came to his innovative style of art, which varied from his Blue Period, in which he painted somber paintings in shades of blue, to his Cubist Period, where he deconstructed a subject's form and represented it in cubes, and everything in between. When discussing his life or judging Picasso's effect on his society, he is seen as a self-absorbed artist who was too concerned to notice what was going on outside of his paintings until civil war occurred in his own country, Spain. Often critics judge Picasso harshly and relegate him to some of the more common stereotypes given to artists. He is seen as "the ivory-tower artist so heroically self-absorbed as to be indifferent to political events; of the egomaniacal coward, who feared to save his friend Max Jacob's life." However, in "Response: Artists in Times of War," Patricia Leighten poses and adequately addresses the question: "how [could] a figure widely considered to be the most significant artist of the twentieth century simultaneously have come to be construed as so disengaged from his society as to be understandable only in terms of his emotional life?" In order to convince the reader of her thesis, Leighten makes use of first-hand accounts and a critical analysis of Picasso's work.
To establish Picasso's acute awareness of both himself and others, Leighten mainly uses quotes from Picasso during interviews, and also quotes how Picasso’s friends described him. The first quote that the author uses from Picasso, gives the reader a clear understanding of the role that Picasso thought both he and his paintings played in society, in which he says, "...these years of terrible oppression have demonstrated to me that I must fight with not only my art, but my whole self." This also explains the obligation that Picasso felt to show a strong front of support for what he believed. The author explains that Picasso clearly did not think of art as merely decoration, but as a way to show the human condition and moral principles. Picasso took pains to make sure that his work was significant and that it would be remembered not only for its beauty but also for its message. Picasso's political thought can be seen throughout each metamorphosis of his style from his Blue Period to his Cubist Period, and even in his collage pieces, which to most will always seem to have an air of disorganization. However, even they contained newspaper clippings that showcased his disapproval of the war.
The author analyzes two key and well-known pieces of Picasso's works to support her opinion that they were heavily influenced by the political instability surrounding Picasso. The author specifically references the paintings "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" and "Guernica," which are fitting choices because they concisely show Picasso's awareness both inside of Spain ("Guernica") and outside of Spain ("Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"). During his Africa period, in which he painted "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Picasso focused on painting "social outcasts" and painted prostitutes that represented a criticism of the economy that allowed Africa to both be exploited and to exploit itself. When he was painting "Guernica" Picasso makes a statement to the press in which he said, “in all my recent works of art, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain in an ocean of pain and death."
In conclusion, in Pablo Picasso's case his art was clearly a product of both his personal experiences and political experiences. Leighten sufficiently defends her opinion, in her use of critical analysis and direct quotes from Picasso himself. I think that in general people, both critics or otherwise, assume that painters paint solely to please themselves, and therefore feel no obligation towards anything outside of their own artistic demands. However, a majority of painters have something to say with their works, whether profound or even comical, and feel an obligation or responsibility to their audience to force society to reevaluate and change. Pablo Picasso was clearly one of the more well-known artists who worked to affect a change that he believed in.
Leighten, Patricia, Response: Artists in Time of War, The Art Bulletin, March 2009, 91.1, http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e06bc114cd79d59968a7de4a8eb8949e474d62401c270fbb9c11f75006976da20&fmt=P
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