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Picasso |
List Price: $24.99
Your Price: $22.49 |
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Reviews |
Features:
Description:
This 80-minute survey of the works of cubism's great master is a little slow, granted. Other titles in the Portrait of an Artist series move faster and explore the lives and philosophies of the artists in more depth and more personally. But Pablo Picasso isn't your everyday artist, and his work and philosophy can't be summed up even in 80 minutes with great ease. This documentary focuses heavily on the art per se, and in sequential order--passing from Picasso's traditional, post-Impressionist still lifes and portraits into his increasingly abstract work. The sheer number of paintings presented here is impressive for any video of this nature; usually directors choose to showcase only a few typical pieces. But here we find beside Picasso's well-known cubist works and legendary allegories--such as Guernica--exposure to the untamed, moody early Picasso, the somber, blue Picasso. There are paintings here not usually featured in Picasso exhibitions--paintings that may surprise you, paintings that don't at first seem representative of his work we know best. The narrative of the documentary uses a choppy voiceover that evokes in its own way, perhaps a bit pretentiously, the modernist style in most of the work. And then there is the metal-gate motif: each new set of paintings is first presented hung from the grating of a large, industrial metal gate and slid before the eyes of the camera on the gate's tracks. Lights then highlight or shade the next painting for consideration. It's a stark, somewhat alienating approach--but not inappropriate. Less stark but no less provocative is the interspersal of scenes of a Spanish bullfight, in all its gory detail. If you are new to abstract modernism, you may find this video a bit over your head, but for hardcore Picasso enthusiasts, there is much here to satisfy. --Erik Macki
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