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.
