Thursday, August 12

Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust: A Pablo Picasso tale

My good friend Bradford turned me on to the wonderful experience that is the L.A. Art Walk held every second Thursday of the month in the somewhat bohemian Gallery District in L.A.. Some say because the event has become something of a sensation in these parts, a kind of hip or trendy thing to do that have attracted all sorts of people from all walks of life in L.A., that it has somewhat diluted its true purpose... And I think that may be so but only from the elitist point of view. But often that is the case with many things that are hip, or cool, or Artistic in "L.A." and I suspect many other Metropolitans that is anything like L.A., such cool things can tend to take on a life of their own. And I believe this isn't always necessarily bad if not for the local economy even in the strictest sense. And why do we always tend to be such elitist anyway? We say things like "Oh it used to be cool, until..." or "Back in the day it was different because...". Ahh I suppose we are all guilty of it at some point and in some way. I believe it's called getting old....

Fact is regardless of who or what kind of folks attend this sensation of an Art event in L.A., its growth present less harm to its pioneering patrons than if it hadn't grown. And for this I think we should be grateful for its growth means its very survival...

Regrettably, my fascination with the Arts is limited to what popular media has instilled in me over the years (Films, Television, Accounts in books and or magazines) though I wouldn't necessarily label me a Philistine just yet, I've always felt a sense of keen appreciation for the artist in their ability to render such fascinating works, and at the same time bemoan my ineptitude. I know personally only of three people that paint (or pastel some of them would call it). Namely Michelle, Jessy, and Mark. I hate them in a way because they can with their own hands create something they can call Art. I envy such people with such talent, if not their passion.

Anyway I thought twice though about going again this month fearing that maybe I'd find the same exact works of art I'd seen just a month ago. And although I have an appreciation for contemporary art and sculptures (Largely is what is seen there), I disliked that there weren't a lot of photography offerings (there was maybe four galleries that showed actual photos). And because I was at odds I'd even told interested friends early on (thanks guys by the way... oh I ended up going with Frank, Mori, and Connor) that I would try to make a decision to go or not to go around 4 pm in hopes of finding some kind of inspiration.......


That inspiration would come
aptly enough in a Pablo Picasso article in a magazine called Art + Auction. So there I was seated patiently in the hospital waiting for my cousin to emerge from the rather impressive Radiation Room (Dangerously close to Facebooking my current status) when I happened upon this equally impressive magazine (almost like a large hardcover magazine). "Hmmn what an interestingly cool coincidence" I thought to myself. And so I picked it up with a a renewed sense that maybe I'd want to go to the L.A. Art Walk after perusing it. The articles were actually wildly entertaining to me and I found myself immersed in the vastly entertaining and evidently sometimes dangerous world of Antiquities and Art trade, the complexity of Insuring Art and fraud, the relationships between Art Dealers and Galleries and restorers, and most enthralling of all the Art Auctions....

From one of the articles: "Nude Green Leaves, and Bust"a sensuous and stunning masterpiece from Pablo Picasso's celebrated 1932 series of painting depicting his muse and mistress Marie-Therese Walter. The painting, from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, sold for a record $106, 482,500, breaking the previous world record for any work of art sold at auction. The Evening Sale portion of the Brody Collection also achieved the highest total for a single-owner offered at Christie's New York.


I read also from some articles online that Mrs. Brody resides in Los Angeles (The painting hung in her living room largely unknown by the Art World. In fact this piece was considered a lost masterpiece until it went on the auction block) and had originally purchased the piece sometime in 1947 for a relatively paltry $17,000. Fascinating isn't it?

Anyhow thank you Mr. Picasso for inspiring me to support the L.A. Art Walk, if not for your enduring works...

Here are some badly composed largely unedited photos from the event:




















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