Allure of Language from the Shadows.

Currently Yale University Art Gallery is holding an art exhibition titled "Picasso and the Allure of Language" which displays a chronological personal documentation that the influence of language had upon the artist.  The exhibition also includes works by Gertrude and Leo Stein, who were friends and contemporaries of Picasso.  According to the show's curator, Susan Greenberg Fisher, this chronology conveys the relationship between Picasso and the world around him.  The exhibition also includes make-believe characters that Picasso created, an examination in the change of Picasso's work, and the explosion of creativity that hit Picasso in the years immediately following World War II.

The aspect of art history that fascinates me is discovering the story behind a work of art, and the influences the environment, culture, and society had upon the artist.  This show is mesmerizing because this type of documentation is not often offered for monumental artists such as Picasso.  The fact that the chronological documentation comes from the hands of Picasso makes it that much more phenomenal.  The pieces also don't elevate Picasso the way that most works of Picasso's do.  It is nice to see him as an equal artist, for lack of a better phrase.  This allows us to put the admiration for his work aside and primarily focus on his thinking process.

To learn more about the exhibit, follow this link.