Desert Jewels: Dazzling Discoveries On Display

Fashion and jewelry fans will want to take note of our new exhibition Deserts Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection. It pulls together more than 90 pieces of hand-crafted jewelry and dozens of photographs from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia collected by Xavier Guerrand-Hermes, of the famed Paris-based fashion house.

Many of the ornate necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings in the exhibition have not been publicly displayed before, which makes them even more special to behold. It’s also fascinating to see how these object, crafted decades ago in a time and place far removed from our own, continue to inspire today’s contemporary jewelry designers. To illuminate that connection, we invited jewelry expert Kate Egan to tour Desert Jewels and discuss her favorite pieces. Egan is particularly well-known in Philadelphia for her sharp eye. She studied photography and earned her MFA at the University of Pennsylvania and later worked alongside famed jewelry designer Ted Muehling. In 2008, Egan opened her boutique, Egan Day, in Rittenhouse Square, where jewelry is elevated to true art.

What follows is a slideshow of Egan’s favorite pieces in the exhibition, along with her thoughts and comments on why each piece is especially note-worthy or just worth a second glance. Click here to launch the slideshow.

Image credits: All images from the exhibition catalog, Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection by Kristyne Loughran and Cynthia Becker, © 2008.

Late Renoir: The Countdown Has Begun!

Opening June 17, 2010
Late Renoir follows the renowned painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir through the final—and most fertile and innovative—decades of his career. At the height of his creative powers and looking toward posterity, Renoir created art that was timeless, enticing, and worthy of comparison to the greatest of the old masters, such as Raphael, Titian, and Rubens.
 
Watch this space for a sneak peak of the exhibition!
 
Image credit: Girl in a Red Ruff, 1896; Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bequest of Charlotte Dorrance Wright, 1978

Mom Blogger Tweetup

Thanks to all the mom bloggers who passed the kids off to dad, or the babysitter, and came out to celebrate the finale of Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris with us last Friday, April 30th. Here's the Flickr photo stream from the gathering. We lucked out with amazing weather, and some pretty tasty cocktails. Stay tuned for more blogger events at the PMA. Have a suggestion for one? Email it to us!

Picasso Playlist: Like Cubism To Your Ears

We asked Alan Lopez (left), a producer in NYC whose knowledge of music culture blows us away, to create a Picasso-inspired playlist. Check out his comments and curated picks, below, which you can download from iTunes and listen to while walking through our exhibition. Start with track #1 in the first gallery and work your way through the musical art journey...

1. To Be Continued...
Ben Frost, from "School Of Emotional Engineering"

A suitable intro. A hint of darkness, but also quite lovely.

2. Poems
Tricky, Terry Hall and Martina Topley Bird, from "Nearly God"

"You promised me poems..." At turns beautiful and sad. This song seems to be constructed atop layers of diethyl ether and absinthe. Pablo would have liked this one.

3. Godspeed
Modeselektor, from "Happy Birthday!"

A perpetual motion machine of a track, Modeselektor evoke the playfulness in the avant-garde that is sometimes overshadowed by the seriousness of the ideologies behind the movement.

Picasso Phillies Photo Contest!

We're celebrating the final week of Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris, which ends on May 2. In honor of Picasso, we're giving away tickets to another hometown favorite, the Phillies!

To enter our giveaway, simply snap a photo of yourself wearing your favorite Phillies gear (hat, jersey, etc) anywhere in the Museum where photography is permitted (so, not in the special exhibition galleries).

Post your photo to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Facebook page or share it via Twitter using the #PABLO hashtag by Sunday, May 2.

The best photo will be featured on the Picasso Posse Blog, and the winner will receive a $100 gift certificate for Philadelphia Phillies tickets, plus two tickets to our upcoming exhibition Late Renoir, opening June 17, 2010.

Additional details....

Where in the World is Picasso?

"Give me a museum and I’ll fill it,” Picasso once said. That’s exactly what several museums around the country are doing this spring—filling their galleries with some of the Spanish artists’s masterpieces. From New York City to Seattle, Picasso is appearing all over the arts scene. Here are a few exhibitions to explore, in addition to our own at the PMA.
By Picasso blogger Silvana Pop

“Picasso: Themes and Variations”
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Now through August 30, 2010
Exploring Picasso’s creative process through the medium of printmaking, this exhibition highlights over 100 of the popular artist’s prints, tracing his development from the early years of the 20th century to his discovery of Cubism.

Picasso Countdown!

We are in the final week of Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris at the PMA! If you haven't seen the exhibition, come check us out. And if you have, come back and show us more love. In the meantime, read this funny blog post about Picasso's penchant for stripped shirts. Maybe you'll be inspired to snap a photo in your hippest boating shirt and send to us on Facebook -- in the sartorial spirit of Picasso. Copycats welcome.

Cubist Makeup Catches On

Continuing yesterday's conversation on how Cubism influences fashion, it's interesting to see how makeup artists translate the trend, too. Using the face as a canvas, experts painted on bold shades, geometric outlines, and interlocking bands of color at recent runway shows. 

To find out if we were onto something major, we contacted Kate Lee, a Chanel makeup artist who takes an artistic approach to maquillage. Here's what she told us: 

Picasso Fashion Statement

Picasso is popping up everywhere these days, even on the runways. Designers like Phillip Lim and Giambattista Valli took inspiration from the artist's style of abstract cubism, combining different shapes, colors, and textures to create fantastic collage-like pieces for their spring collections.

But off the runway, how does one work the cubist trend? For that, we spoke to Cathy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer's Style & Soul editor. Some helpful hints:

Picasso Tweetup April 30th

All Philadelphia-area mom bloggers are invited to a special Mom’s Night Out at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 30th at 6pm. The first 25 bloggers to RSVP will get one free ticket to the Picasso exhibition, plus a free "Ice Cubism" cocktail and Picasso poster. Those who RSVP after the first 25 can purchase a discounted admission ticket for $18.

Click here to RSVP by Wednesday, April 28. Please include your name, blog URL, and contact info (phone and mailing address). See you on the 30th!

A Cubist Cocktail

Picasso blogger Jaime Bramble on the art of the cocktail...Happy weekend.


You don’t need me to tell you that the Picasso exhibition is a feast for the eyes. But what you may not realize is that beyond the galleries, a feast of a whole different kind awaits.
I’m talking about the specialty cocktail that was created in honor of Picasso's legacy: the Ice Cubism. I just sampled one (or two...) with Tia Triplett, General Manager of Restaurant Associates here at the Museum. Tia is in charge
of all food and beverage outlets and catering; she's also the creative force behind some truly masterful libations.

A blend of Absolut raspberry vodka and DeKuyper peach schnapps, the crystal clear Ice Cubism is at once refreshing and substantial, with just the right amount of sweetness. As Tia describes it, it’s a lot like a cherry lifesaver. The finishing touches are three “ice cubes” (they’re actually jello cubes); one blueberry, one strawberry, and one pineapple, representing the three primary colors - the blue and red also harkens to Picasso's blue and rose periods. The challenge in creating the Ice Cubism, Tia told me, came not only from experimenting with and finding the perfect blend of ingredients, but also in developing something that would stand up to sitting out. After all, real ice cubes melt. And as far as we know, Picasso didn’t have a muddied purplish period. After trying a variety of herbal infusions, fruits, and juices, she thought of jello shots. The result is visually arresting, palate-pleasing, and, I dare say, appropriately avant-garde.

Friday, April 16, 2010

"Pretty Much Picasso"

Grow your own Picasso? Yes, you can. Check out the "Supertunia Pretty Much Picasso" hybrid petunia created by plant supplier Proven Winners. This beauty took home the Innovation Award at the International Plant Fair in Germany recently. And it's racked up 14 awards to date at various planting trials around the world. Gardening buffs praise its unique combination of colors--the violet bloom piped in green, which has a cool tie-dye effect. Apparently, it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, but deadheading is not necessary. Oh good! So who's up for some planting this weekend?
Image: Accuweather

My Room in the Picasso Exhibition

Picasso blogger, Erin Cameron, tells us why the Salon Cubism is her favorite room in the Picasso exhibition.


"By far, my favorite part of Picasso and the Avant-Garde was the room about cubism in the French Salon. In case you don't remember, this room was a bit larger than most and painted terra cotta red.

Picasso: Reordering of Reality

Curator Michael Taylor discusses Juan Gris' Still Life Before an Open Window, Place Ravignan. It's the first Cubist painting to blend the interior and the exterior worlds together. Sadly, a computer screen doesn't do the colors justice -- the palette is strange and mystical, and definitely worth seeing in person (find this work in the Synthetic Cubism gallery). What do you think of it?

Oooh! Picasso

Taking the kids to Picasso? Check out this post from mom blogger Melissa Agnert on her fun day at the Museum, and see how you can win a copy of this imaginative children's book written by Mil Nieplod and Jeannyves Verdu, which we love and highly recommend (for adults, too).

You Ask, We Ask

We rounded up questions from the blogosphere about the Picasso exhibition, then put them to curator Michael Taylor. Here's what we found out for you...

Q: In preparing the exhibition, did you come across anything that surprised you or that you didn’t know about Picasso? (Frank Luzi, Havertown)

MT: "The only major discovery for me was the existence of archival photographs of the PMA’s painting The Three Musicians, which show that the painting at one stage had two figures, but that Picasso added a third musician, the monk, and reconfigured the entire composition. That really blew my mind as I had always assumed that the artist figured out the entire composition beforehand."

The Mona Lisa of Cubism

Hear how the public first reacted to Cubism, as curator Michael Taylor discusses works from the exhibition, including one that was dubbed the Mona Lisa of Cubism...

What's The Craziest Art You've Ever Created?

Picasso and his contemporaries in Paris were the kind of risk-takers who weren't afraid to create a twisted sculpture out of an absinthe glass or drag a comb through wet paint to simulate a wood-grain effect on a canvas. It's adventurous. It also reminds us of all the daring art experiments we've tried over the years -- some of which were amazing (right?) but most of which didn't pan out as well as Picasso's. Got any highlights you remember? Post a comment telling us about your craziest art project (bonus if you've got the photos to prove it). The best post will win this awesome relief-construction artist's kit from our Museum shop. Pass and share the news with frustrated artists everywhere.   

More About the Picasso Pouf

If you haven't had a chance to sit on Sigmund, the very cool and very comfy pouf in the Salon Cubism (almost visible in this shot), you're missing out. The circular seat was specially commissioned by the Museum for the Picasso exhibition and designed by local artist/explorer Virgil Marti. For more musings on Marti, check out this article by Matthew Singer, and if you didn't catch our video interview with Marti earlier, click below. It's worth a watch.  

Picasso Comic-Strip Series

Listen as curator Michael Taylor discusses Pablo Picasso's comic-strip-like series of political prints in Dream and Lie of Franco.

Get Your Pablo Button!

Coming to check out Picasso this weekend? Don't forget to say the name "Pablo" when buying your ticket at the Museum admission desk to get a free pin. Wearing it will make you feel as happy as the 80 degree weather we're predicted to get. Enjoy.  

Mademoiselle Pogany: A Masterpiece 23 Years in the Making

By Picasso Posse blogger Silvana Pop

Romanian born artist Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) met Margit Pogany, a Hungarian art student, in Paris in 1910. She was his inspiration for what has become one the most acclaimed masterpieces of the 20th century: Mademoiselle Pogany (1931), on display in the “Eastern Europeans in Paris” gallery of the Picasso and the Avant-Garde exhibition.


Since the sculpture is part of the museum’s permanent collections, I have often stopped by the PMA’s Modern and Contemporary Gallery to see the delicate egg-like bust of Mademoiselle Pogany and the other beautiful sculptures by Brancusi, whose talent for reducing natural forms to their most basic, geometric shapes, and in turn creating timeless masterpieces have intrigued audiences for decades.


While many of the “émigré artists” in Paris during the first half of the 20th century, including Lipchitz and Zadkine—inspired by Picasso’s work—experimented with the interlocking planes and sharp angles of Cubism, Brancusi aimed to incorporate these ideas with the traditional folk art of his native Romania. An avid wood carver, Brancusi dramatically juxtaposed the smooth marble portrait of Margit Pogany with a rustic oak base. Over the course of 23 years, Brancusi constructed numerous versions of the sculpture, perfecting and simplifying Mademoiselle Pogany’s elegantly refined image to its most pure form. The marvelous end result is what you’ll see in the Picasso exhibition…

For more on Mademoiselle Pogany, watch this video with curator Michael Taylor, in which he discusses how the sculpture creates a visual electric spark and relates to Margit Pogany's own self-portrait.




Image: Mademoiselle Pogany [III], c. 1931, by Constantin Brancusi (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950) © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Audience Reactions: What Did You Think of Picasso?

The countdown to the video contest has begun. As you think about your top 10 reasons to see Picasso, we figured we'd share a little video short from our intrepid blogger Danya Henninger. She set up her camera outside the Picasso gallery and filmed visitors' reactions to the exhibition. Take a look at which work of art people liked the most -- and what else they had to say. 

Video Contest Alert!

Time to get creative, Picasso vloggers. We want to know your "top 10" reasons for coming to check out the Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris exhibition. Make it the topic of a video, short film, or animation spot, and post it to our Facebook page or send it to kari.molvar@philamuseum.org by Fri, April 9th.

We'll choose the best video and air it on this site. What else is up for grabs? The winner will be treated to lunch with the curator of Modern Art, Michael Taylor, and a private tour of the Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris exhibition.

So. Start rolling.

Image credits: Philadelphia Museum of Art; photo by David DiRentis

The Picasso Pouf

A work of art that you can touch? Yes, the Museum specially commissioned this "pouf" for the Salon Cubism gallery in the Picasso exhibition, which visitors can lounge on. Find out how the artist, Virgil Marti, dreamed it up.

VH1 Counts Down with Picasso

The galleries got a pop-culture facelift this week when a VH1 video crew stopped by to broadcast its Top 20 Countdown with Jim Shearer from the Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris exhibition. Press Officer Lindsay Warner (that's her, pictured) tagged along to guide the cameras through the Museum and block any eager school groups from jumping in the shot (hey mom!). Here, she gives us a behind-the-scenes recap.
   


"The host, Jim Shearer, has a mind like a steel trap and had some interesting takes on a few objects in our collection (his interpretation of the regal 13th-century Saint-Genis-des-Fontaines cloisters? “Really old.”) -- and it was kinda fun to hear how much Rihanna spends on her fitness trainer and diet regime while standing in front of 16th-century Constantine tapestries.

But the crew really honed in on the last few galleries of Picasso, especially Orloff’s The Dancers, Dali’s wild Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (left) and Picasso’s Man with a Lamb (above), which served as a backdrop for the battle between the ladies – that would be Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum."

Want to see who got the No.1 spot? You can catch the re-broadcast on Tuesday March 30, 9am on VH1.

Photo (top) courtesy of Lindsay Warner; all other photos courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Picasso Poetry

Picasso Posse blogger Jen Anolik is an English major at Dickinson College who put her research skills to work and turned up some beautiful and strange poetry that Picasso wrote in his day. She shares a few stanzas with us.


Picasso’s interest in poetry is not entirely surprising considering that he hung out with poets in Paris, such as Cocteau, Breton, and Apollinaire. Picasso’s prose has often been compared to his artwork- in particular, his collages. The most obvious similarity is that, like his works of art, the meaning of Picasso’s poetry is difficult to interpret at first glance.

How Do You Say Picasso?

Check out the winner of our video contest. We asked Picasso Posse bloggers to film as many people as possible saying the name "Picasso." The winning entry is by Yidi Outhier - it captured our attention, hands down. Take a look!

“Oil on Canvas:” Exploring Picasso With Kids

Say hello to Silvana Pop, a Picasso Posse blogger who's out and about on the art scene, and works in public relations at Please Touch Museum, the Children's Museum of Philadelphia. Here, she writes about visiting the Picasso exhibition with little ones in tow.

When my brother was six years old, he wrote a report about a family trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While I do not remember all the details he shared in his assignment, what has stuck with me through the years is his innocent observation: “All the paintings were called Oil on Canvas,” he wrote.

Of course, he was referring to the media, rather than the artworks’ actual titles because the plaques accompanying the paintings were right at his eye level— they were the most accessible part of the artworks. While I still chuckle thinking back on my brother’s endearing naiveté, this anecdote vividly brings to light the way children and the adults with them can experience an art exhibtion.

Drawing Blindfolded!

Curator Michael Taylor discusses why Picasso created this illustration while blindfolded. It's pretty cool.

Tagging Along With A Picasso Curator

Claire Howard, Curatorial Research Assistant

Picasso blogger Jaime Bramble give us a "day in the life" of one our own curators...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to pull off a major museum exhibition like Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris? Ever thought about what happens beyond the search for objects in far-flung lands, the schmoozing with art dealers, the opening night galas?

My recent chat with Claire Howard (pictured), curatorial research assistant here at the PMA, helped shed a lot of light on it all. Claire has worked under curator Michael Taylor on several exhibitions (Thomas Chimes: Adventures in 'Pataphysics, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective, and Marcel Duchamp: Étant donnés among them), with Picasso being the latest.

Favorite Picasso Comment of the Day

We recently installed a cool "Discussion" kiosk in the Museum, where you can post comments/ thoughts/ daydreams that occur to you after walking through the Picasso exhibition. It's kinda fascinating to look through the different posts and see what people have to say. Here's a favorite comment we wanted to share...(want more? click here to read the latest posts).

"Early 20th Century was a time of great uncertainty and transition and history is reflected through these paintings and sculptures which are darker and less colorful than traditional perspectives... it gave me an acute sense that this time was a hard time for many...which as history shows, was indeed a world in turmoil."

The Password is "Pablo"

Hey, look at these rad new Pablo buttons, created especially for Picasso and Avant-Garde in Paris. We're kinda obsessed with them. Here's the deal if you want to get one: Anyone who says the word "Pablo" when buying a ticket or membership to the Museum scores a free button. FYI, we only printed up a limited number, so one per person. Share the news, spread the Picasso love.  

Phanatical About Picasso

Check out the Phillies "Phanatic" on the steps of the Museum, leading into the Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris exhibition. The feathery green creature's likeness visited us as part of a cool public art project.  To learn more, go to www.visitphilly.com/phanatic.

Go Phillies. Go Picasso.  

Photo by M. Edlow for GPTMC

Collage Education

Our latest Picasso blogger, Jaime Bramble, is the Copywriter/Web Content Manager at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She's also pursuing her MLA degree at the University of Pennsylvania, with concentrations in Creative Writing and South African Studies. Her fiction has appeared in A Capella Zoo, Cantaraville, Slow Trains, and others.

I always thought collage was the stuff of middle school art classes and ambitious scrap-booking projects - a fun way to pass a lonely afternoon, a valid excuse to purchase large pots of glue and Crayola markers well into adulthood - but nothing that anyone would ever really take too seriously. And I always thought that was a shame, because I can make a mean collage. After visiting Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris, the latest blockbuster exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, however, I realized there may be hope for a starving collage-ist like me yet. This show totally challenged, as in, blew to smithereens - all my earlier ideas about the medium.

In these seemingly chaotic, yet in fact impeccably arranged, works of art (by Picasso as well as his contemporaries Georges Braque and Juan Gris), fruit and wineglasses mingle with violins and newspaper clippings of the day - testament of a world on the brink of and in the midst of war. Not only that, this was a time when everything was becoming more and more industrialized. It's highly possible that as these works were being created, nothing seemed certain and nothing felt real. When you think of it that way, it's all quite moving. Then, as now: collage is a means of expression, identification, catharsis, and preservation.

The collages on view feature objects cut and thoughtfully pasted as well as drawn by hand, a juxtaposition that plays with ideas of dimension as well as illusion and reality. Torn strips of paper and images of everyday objects come together to create bold geometry and subtle shadows. It begs the question: What is really worth remembering? When we are torn to shreds, how can we piece ourselves together into a more meaningful whole?

Photo (top): Still Life: The Table, Juan Gris, 1914; photo (bottom): Musical Forms, Georges Braque, 1918. All courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Picasso Games in the Galleries

The Education department at the Museum recently created a nifty "Family Guide" for the Picasso and the Avant-Garde exhibition. It's full of simple but thought-provoking games and teasers (try this one: which two paintings are most alike and different in the Cubism Salon?). You can find the guide on your way into the exhibition. Although it's technically geared toward kids, it's actually a lot of fun for those who've graduated from coloring books too, we realized. So we decided to post a couple puzzlers here. Think of them as modern-day versions of parlor games.

GAME #1: Go to the Americans in Paris gallery. One of these pictures was inspired by Cubism and one was not. Which is the Cubist work?

GAME #2. Find the Picasso and Surrealism gallery. Surrealist artists made images inspired by their dreams, feelings, and ideas that popped into their minds.... Sometimes they asked their friends to title their artwork for them. Look at the long wall of paintings with light-brown backgrounds. Can you give these paintings new titles? What would you name them?

Photo (top): Pertaining to Yachts and Yachting, Charles Sheeler, 1922; photo (bottom): Bullfight, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso, 1934. All courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

What Inspires Me: Picasso and Cubism

Meet Emily Heller, a Picasso Posse blogger from Temple University, who tells us why the fragmented planes of Cubism are so cool.

I saw a Picasso exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City with my parents when I was seven. As a child, being bustled around by adults in a crowded gallery was not my idea of a fun day out, however the Picasso paintings were forever burned in my memory.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art's Picasso exhibition has many paintings which fall into the Cubism category, including the ever-popular, “Man with a Guitar.” All of these paintings are representative of the "avant-garde" feeling taking place in Paris during Picasso's time...

I wondered, what does "avant-garde" really mean? Technically, it's a military term that means "advance guard." But today, it's a term that has come to be used for any members of a group (artists, writers, etc.) who push the boundaries in their field. Seeing the works in the exhibition reminds me of how Piasso pioneered the Cubism movement, pushing the boundaries of painting off the canvas. As one looks at the pieced-together compositions, the scattered images come together and form a single imprint that seems to last forever.

Photo (top): courtesy of Emily Heller; photo (center): Man with a Guitar, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso, courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

What Inspires Me: Paper Collage

Picasso Posse blogger Erin Cameron teaches art history and writes the clever blog Art Without Pretense (tagline: the trials of a starving art historian). We asked her to share her thoughts on what inspires her about the Picasso exhibition.

Papier collé, literally glued paper, is a subject which has preoccupied me for the last few years. Following a grad course which traced the history of collage from the Cubists into the modern world, I have continued to think about how Picasso’s and Bracque’s experiments have remained relevant.

 In my Intro to Art History classes, the question of collage is something I repeatedly pose to my students. What do they know about it? Have they used collage? Is it outdated? Far from passé, we use collage in many forms today. My students, not at first familiar with Picasso’s Sheet Music and Glass, have all cut and pasted images from magazines and newspapers. Without knowing the terms used by Picasso or Braque, nearly everyone understands the concept of collage. It is one of the most enduring legacies left by Picasso—that any number of separate elements can come together and form a new image with an altered meaning.

Photo top: Courtesy of Erin Cameron; Photo right: Bowl with Fruit, Violin, and Wineglass; Pablo Ruiz y Picasso, 1913. Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Behind the Scenes: Picasso's Self-Portrait with Palette

Curator Michael Taylor discusses Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris - now on view through April 25, 2010. 

Film Inspiration: The Moderns

The Americans in Paris gallery in the Picasso exhibition spotlights the "Lost Generation," aka the group of expatriate artists and writers who moved to Paris in the 1920s, hung out in cafes with the likes of Picasso, and caused a stir (see curator Michael Taylor's clip and the photograph of Ada Smith, a jazz singer and dancer known as "Bricktop," for more on that).

The personalities and particularities of cafe society inspired Alan Rudolph's 1988 film, The Moderns. The film portrays Nick Hart, a struggling American artist who falls into the expat community in Paris in 1926. After a few twists and turns, he eventually becomes wrapped up in a plot to forge three paintings...which lands him in all sorts of trouble.

Want to see it on the big screen? It's being shown at the Museum on Sunday, March 28th, at 2pm. Click here for details. Want to know what others thought of it? 73% of Rotten Tomatoes viewers liked it. What about you? If you've seen it, tell us about it.

Americans in Paris

Check out Curator Michael Taylor discussing the Americans in Paris gallery - focusing on Gertrude Stein, Bricktop, and Aaron Douglas.

Art Blogger Opportunity

Do you love Picasso? Do you love to blog? The Philadelphia Museum of Art just launched the blog you're reading now to celebrate the opening of the special exhibition, Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris, and we want you to be a part of it.

The Museum is looking for a select group of art-loving, socially-wired individuals to become part of our Picasso Posse blogger community. Bloggers will be involved in all aspects of the site, from writing posts on topics of their choosing, to helping film behind-the-scenes videos, to uploading photos and content that provokes buzz and commentary. Bloggers will also be encouraged to spread their knowledge and first-hand experiences at the Museum through Facebook, Twitter, and other content-sharing applications. The Museum’s blog is a new experiment in social media and bloggers will have a unique and exciting opportunity to shape its content from the ground up.

The blogger position is unpaid, yet those accepted into the Picasso Posse will have unlimited access to the Museum and its collection for the duration of the Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris exhibition.

To Apply:
*Submit a sample 250-word post on any topic related to Picasso
*Suggest 5 ideas for content you would create for the Museum’s blog
*List any relevant experience you have with blogging, including any blogs or sites that you currently host or write for.

Please submit materials as soon as possible to: kari.molvar@philamuseum.org

Photo by M. McClellan for GPTMC