Kids & Pablo Picasso

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Cubism isn’t the easiest art concept to explain to adults, let alone to kids.  Does that mean we should refrain from teaching children challenging art theories?  Of course not!  At the recent Take pART event at St. Luke’s UMC, I wrote a brief explanation of Cubism to accompany a kids’ art activity called “Picasso Pizzazz.”  Kids were encouraged to create their own “portraits” by using pieces of felt in interesting shapes and attaching them to a felt board.  The children were entranced!  Here’s what I wrote about Cubism.

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish Cubist painter who lived from 1881 – 1973.  Picasso was best known for painting in a style of art called Cubism.  Cubism tried to show an object or person from many angles at the same time.  Cubist painters were not interested in painting something or someone realistically.  They believed in painting a person or object from many perspectives at once.  That is why the woman in this painting seems to be turning her head and facing forward at the same time.  It is almost as if she is moving and staying still in the same painting.

This painting is titled “Seated Woman” and was painted in 1927.  The Cubist painters liked to use simple shapes and sometimes used bold colors.  What bold colors do you see in this painting?  What shapes and colors did Picasso use for her hair?

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.