Picasso Curriculum Development Themes

In preparation for today's Picasso curriculum meeting, here are the discussion questions that Emily forwarded from the de Young's team, the exhibition curator Tim Burgard and assistant curator Emma Acker.

The BIG question:

What does it mean to be an artist?

and the subset of themes relating back to this central question:

• How does an artist use form and color to convey emotion?
• How does an artist's life impact his work?
• How is an artist a magician? What does a magician do with form?
• Why do artists break rules?
• Where do artists find inspiration?

In addition, two more paintings will be discussed today:

La Danse Villageoise (catalog pg. 105)
(color – blue – connected to emotion, referencing Renoir, Self-Portrait, use of form)

Grand Nature Morte au Gueridon (catalog pg. 127)
(color, morphing of inanimate objects, bending of space)






















Our collective comments on the selected works by Picasso up for discussion:

#1 Dora Maar

• Explore for line and color (AW)
• Line, color (JW)
• Interesting to see the whole series; Mars' influence politically; exploring line and color (CS)
• (LL)
• Line, color, shape, good example of depicting multiple perspectives at once; exploring the use of textural/graphic elements on the planes (the plaid of her skirt, the stripes on the walls, that unusual blouse); might be interesting to discuss the idea of "the gaze" in art for the older kids. (AB)
• (MC)
• (CV)

#2 Self Portrait

• Compare/contrast #2 & #5 different approaches to the portrait; father/son relation as a set; Cultural influence of African and Iberian sculpture and the mask; Monochrome palette > brushwork (AW)
• Ties in w/classical(iberian) & what he was seeing, everyone should do a self portrait; likes Father/son connection with #2 & #5 (JT)
• (JW - Alt.)
• Broadest appeal and possibilities for application at all grade levels (MC)
• Self-portrait is very teachable for little ones (CV)

#3 Woman with Clasped Hands

• Sketch linked with the monumental painting Les Demoiselles d/Avignon (AW - Alt.)
• Studies for Les Demoiselles d’Avignon; good example of pre-Cubism and series before Les Demoiselles; lead in to his influence by African art and Cezanne. (JW)
• Study of African art influences on Picasso and study for his Les Demoiselles d/Avignon. (CS - Alt.)

#4 Guitar and Bottle of Bass

• Example of Cubism; sculpture; opportunity for students to create their own constructions (AW)
• Sculpture, cubism, language: bass as a heteronym! (JT)
• 
  Synthetic cubism, collage; use of shapes and materials to suggest something without making it look just like an object. (JW)
• Collage and Cubism (CS)
• (LL)
• Example of cubism; the assemblage of interesting materials; the inverted plane of the "table" that all of these items are sitting on; 3-D / sculptural quality; thematically, there are so many different depictions of guitars in the exhibit. (AB)
• (MC)
• (CV)

#5 Paul as Harlequin

• A painting of a child; The symbolism of the Harlequin; the juxtaposition of finished vs. unfinished in the painting; underpainting shows how Picasso changed the figure. (AW)
• Relationship w/family; theme of harlequin, painting vs. realism (JT)
• Example of Rose Period; underdrawings and what that can teach kids about doing art, study of this period of Picasso’s interest in harlequins and clowns. (JW)
• Father son/ Harlequin as an alter-ego (CS)
• Picasso's self-identity as a harlequin character - is it imposed on his son? Emotional literacy - exploring the facial expression and the underlying feeling.  Visibility of the underpainting, how he changed the child's stance from standing to seated; discussion about Picasso's artistic process, experimenting, changing his mind and trying new things. (AB) 
• (MC)
• (CV)

#7 Bullfight: Death of the Torero

• Symbolism of the bull and horse also used in many of his other works such as Guernica; emotions will be stirred up for students, opportunity to bring in historical context (CS)
• (LL)
• Cultural identity and using art to express it; after living in France, still identified himself as a Spaniard; longing for home, refusal to return b/c of Franco; depicting himself as the bull - with uncontrolled, irrepressible desires (contrasted to his identity as a harlequin); If the matador and the horse represent his wife and mistress - apologetic aspect, self-awareness about his destructive actions; his ability to capture violently graphic scenes - to create a visceral reaction in the viewers. (AB)

#8 The Studio of La Californie

• Picasso’s tribute to Delacroix & Matisse; Composition exploring rhythm: dancing line work, light/dark contrasting color, repetition of shapes; studies and comparison with the works that inspired the painting would be great for a discussion on the issue of copying vs. stealing. "When Matisse died," Picasso told Roland Penrose, "he left his odalisques to me as a legacy, and this is my idea of the Orient though I have never been there." (AW)
• Study of the word meaning Califonie, golden state, earthly paradise, high mountains, hot oven in Catalan, the blank page/canvas, friendship/influence Matisse/Picasso, concept of studio, motif (JT)
• Example of Picasso’s “interior landscapes”, as well as the white canvas and the various parts that you can take apart and investigate further; fun connection to Matisse, California. (JW)
• The empty canvas showing his inventiveness/ Matisse like shapes, repetition (CS)
• (LL)
• Artistic depiction of Personal space (compare to Van Gogh's Bedroom); three canvases in different stages - one is near-complete with paint, one is a sketch, and one is blank canvas - showing his artistic process. Compare with "The Artist before his Canvas" another blank canvas - plate number 145 in the catalog. (AB)
• (MC)
• (CV)