Picasso and Beauty

A couple weeks ago I wrote about how art doesn't always need to be this conceptual canyon of meaning symbolism and political stances. Today a painting by one of the greatest artists to ever live goes on sale, and it is exactly what I was talking about. A vibrant and beautiful look at love.

While many people know Picasso for his revolutionary ideas, people tend to not notice how little he commented on the outside world. Much of his art is about himself and his women and while it may seem pretty self-centered, it was pretty revolutionary idea in and of itself at that time. Creating art based on everyday life was a fairly new idea at the turn of the century and many people did not see the value. They were used to huge historical and religious works, meant to educate as well as enlighten the people. Everyday life didn't seem meaningful enough to paint. The impressionists sought to change that, and when Picasso came along, even with the new growing movement to make political statements throughout the wars, He continued to paint everyday happenings, much to the criticism of many other artists.

I think, though, that this concentration on the everyday is what makes many Picasso's so famous and loved today. They are simply beautiful. In a country where the best selling artist is or was Thomas Kinkade (gag),    beauty is obviously king over concept...but in the art world, we seem to have forgotten the "beauty" side of art. An artist that paints beauty is shallow. They are an interior decorator, not an artist.

Kinkade is nothing compared to Picasso, but it gets the point across. Beauty connects with people. Are you making art that is only for the art world? Are you making work only for yourself? Are you making work that is trying to change the world and, if so, how are you doing that if 99% of the world doesn't understand it? If you believe that the only valuable art is the conceptual, the deep and psychological, where does the bulk of Picasso's work lie?