Without a consistent frozen lure this winter break, the Triangle had in its midst a gaze of epic continuum. Not in Raleigh, but rather at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, “Picasso and the Allure of Language” donned the walls with rays of immortal genius, as the influence of not color or style, but language shaped and created visual brilliance.
“Picasso and the Allure of Language” was successfully able to express the interdisciplinary experimental thought of one of time’s greatest artistic masterminds through violent innovation, from the Cubist era through the 1950s. Picasso’s work, often through comedic pun, deeply penetrates societal normalities of feeling and thought.
The depth to which Picasso visually conquers art is as visually vibrant and diverse as his anatomical style, as this exhibit proved he is incapable of being restrained. Instead, we should define his genre of art as “Picasso,” where nothing more or less fits. He wrote himself, “too much water in the bowl, too much shadow reversed … it’s never finished the dream of crystal.”
Like the glistening complexity and rarity of a diamond, the original masterpieces are now gone from Durham, which is only the second location the pieces have been shown in the United States. Returning home to the Yale University Art Gallery on Jan. 3, the exhibit received critical acclaim from both local and national publications, including the New York Times.
“We have had over 40,000 visitors from [not only] the Duke community, but from outside [as well],” Nasher Director Kim Rorschach said. “Except for last year’s ‘El Greco to Velazquez’ exhibit [which received 75,000 visitors, ‘Picasso and the Allure of Language’ had] the highest attendance.”
The theme of the exhibit was to show the impact of language from contemporary poets and poetry, most notably Apollinaire and Gertrude Stein, on Picasso’s art.
“He was interested in their working methods,” Rorschach said. “[He] applied language and words in his work, incorporating printed material such as newspapers.”
In addition to the permanent gallery at the Nasher Museum, on display is “Big Shots: Andy Warhol Polaroids,” until Feb. 21. After that will be “Lines of Attack: Conflicts in Caricature,” where 19th century French political caricatures are compared to those from the Clinton and Bush administrations. In March, “Displacement: The Three Gorges Dam and Contemporary Chinese Art,” an exhibit comparing the economic, environmental and social implications of that dam construction, will open. Needless to say, the exhibits will examine the theme of art and politics. For all the information you may want or need concerning the museum and its current exhibits you can visit its Web site at nasher.duke.edu or dial 919-684-5135.
