Friday 9 December 2011

Picasso unplugged

Oh dear, how do I say this?

There are 10 rooms of works, over 150 in total. Canvases. Drawings. Bronze statues. Wooden and metal constructions. But Edmund's fliers say 'masterpieces'. Forgive me, but not everything created by Picasso was a masterpiece. And whichever of his works are classified this way, are in museums around the globe, or private hands.

One has to read the small print: these works were mostly found in Picasso's house(s) after his death and used (in kind) to pay the taxes Pablo owed to the French treasury. Subsequently, they were housed in the Musee National Picasso in Paris. It is stretching it to say they are 'Picasso's Picassos'. Just as it is unfair to say they are the ones he could not flog. Quite a few of them are studies for eventual masterpieces. Drafts, if you will.

And then there is the exhibition. The staging.

Ten rooms; 150 works. In sequence. There is no emotional high-point to the exhibition. Like using a grader to make a highway: cutting off the hills; filling in the valleys; voila! Am I allowed to say it is like being processed through Ikea?

And, I had to wait in an ante-room with others who nominated the 10am time-slot, only to see what appeared to be a conga-line of ticket buyers at the front desk, just going straight in.

So, I have bought another ticket for Saturday 7th January, which is the Sydney Festival First Night. They have French music, and Spanish music, and wine, and food, and a doco about Pablo.

Because I could be wrong. This could just be a rush to judgement.

12 comments:

Stefan Jansson said...

I bet they could produce some Picasso like stuff at IKEA and to a price that we all can afford!

Peter said...

Thanks for the insight into the exhibition, hmm, looks like I will have to book.

Mark said...

Good review Julie.

PeterParis said...

As the Paris Picasso Museum is closed for renovation, his works are travelling. Hopefully some nice food and wine will make it easier to appreciate what you will see! :-)

Ann said...

That's the trouble with a lot of the exhibitions we get here. We don't get the really good stuff as they don't let it out of the country. I've been disapointed with several "blockbuster" exhibitions because of this.

Kay L. Davies said...

I guess the theory is "any Picasso is better than no Picasso at all" and maybe it's true. I hope you enjoy it more when fortified by music, wine and food.
I love Alannah's haircut, by the way!
K

Jim said...

Thanks for the critique.

Joan Elizabeth said...

I find the crowds at these big exhibitions detract from the enjoyment.

diane b said...

Well that is an interesting take on the exhibition. I wont rush to buy a plane ticket.

Rae Walter said...

I have heard that the exhibition is excellent and am planning to come over to see it. Hope that I do not have to waste time standing to queues that are too long though. Thanks for the warning!

Julie said...

I would definitely still see it. I have a second tx as I indicated, and will probably have another towards the end of February. It is still good stuff, just left with a bit of a wierd let-downy feeling.

Joe said...

I like the height in these photos, particularly the top one.