Can you understand this Image?

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   PhenomWriterposted 12 years ago

   
   'Death'  ~Pablo Picasso

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      Mikel G Robertsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I would say it is a man about to die (a man facing death)... not the Grim Reaper...

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      paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The absolute, very first word that came to my mind was "nonplussed".

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      lobobrandonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      A Martian!!!! - Beware an invasion could be round the corner by these old men!!

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         Eaglekiwiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         A constipated martian perhaps

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            Sneha Sunnyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            lol..

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      Sneha Sunnyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Tragedies of life...

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      Xenonlitposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It's a NASCAR fan.

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   jessicaseoposted 12 years ago

   Yeah! He doesn't seems happy!

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   wildernessposted 12 years ago

   Looks to me like one of the time term residents of Eastern Island has a cold.

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   SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years ago

   ..self-portrait...PP facing death

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      psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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   Nell Roseposted 12 years ago

   Looks like someone has just 'goosed' him from behind! Pablo Picasso was such an overated artist. Whoever said he could paint?? I am sure most of us did better in kindergarten! lol!

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   skyfireposted 12 years ago

   "What has been seen cannot be unseen"

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   2uesdayposted 12 years ago

   It is all in the expression on the face, the tight line of the lips and the look in the eyes. The man is staring at death, his own and he has no where else to go or look, what he sees ahead of him could make the face be read as an expressionless, but when we are afraid we are 'frozen' and not animated. Just my humble opinion.

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   Randy Godwinposted 12 years ago

   If the words "eating a saltine cracker" were added to the word "Death" it would perhaps be more apt in this case. 

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      PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Your snake looks very civilized...

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   skyfireposted 12 years ago

   

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      paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Unfortunately, that statement is absolutely, totally, brutally true...

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    skyfireposted 12 years ago

    

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       PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       ...very cute cats...

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    PhenomWriterposted 12 years ago

    What about his two eyeballs don't match in size?

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       SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       ..cuz he's lookin' at ya with one eye now...the other shut forever......

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          PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          i love you...r thoughts... 

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    Zabbellaposted 12 years ago

    The expression does look like he just got the bad news about his own death. 
    Picasso was not a starving artist, so he could paint anything and someone will pay. (seems harsh but true)

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       PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       "so he could paint anything and someone will pay."   -should we have the opposite condition for a painter? I mean, what if he is forced to paint things he does not like himself, just because someone will pay for it?
       
       Is that what Art, and an Artist is all about?

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          2uesdayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          That might not be 'right' but it was the reality and what happened to many artsits in the past. There are artists and writers whose works only became popular and sold for vast sums of money after there death. In order to continue to paint they lived a life of poverty.
          
          
          In the past some English artist were dependent on 'patrons of the arts' for money to survive on while they worked on their paintings.
          
          The use of red text/ink is usual- that is, it is not often used in the forums.

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             PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Thanks for the reply...that is, I will think. I am still here, though I killed a sockpuppet.
             
             I only use special letters when I feel they should be used. HubPages should make them unavailable if they ever think its use is 'wrong'.

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          couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Hence the phrase "starving artist".

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    2uesdayposted 12 years ago

    I am guessing that the eyes look different because when someone  faces death they will tend to look to their past as well as to the future that awaits them. I have not researched this painting and that is just a guess at what he might be trying to express in the image.
    
    As Picasso could draw well, early works demonstrate this. I think it is likely that pictures such as this one by him are meant to convey more than an accurate likeness. Although I do find some 'artists' modern pieces a bit smoke and mirrors for my liking.

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    Pearldiverposted 12 years ago

    This was painted as a result of the death of a friend in Paris. I believe his friend committed suicide by jumping off a structure in an attempt to leave an impression on the world - as you can see the street made an impression on his head, which is highlighted within this piece.

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    2uesdayposted 12 years ago

    Thank you Pearldiver, I guess when we reading paintings or writing if we do not know the full facts behind them then we tend to improvise with our existing knowledge of our world and experiences.

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    Disturbiaposted 12 years ago

    It's art, what's to understand?  Everyone who looks at this will have their own experience with it, and that's as it should be.

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    mel22posted 12 years ago

    a bleeding mind... i sometimes feel this way ( heck i usually feel that way all the time ) .. i wonder if i'm on death bed and don't know it.

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       PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       One question - if someone wants to sell you this painting, how much will you pay him (given that you have unlimited wealth) ? ...This is a serious question.
       
       You have full right not to answer, if this question is disturbing.

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          mel22posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          If i had unlimited wealth? then i'd say maybe 50 dollars for the time put in.. ...If i was really into i art i might double it to 100... i'm not particularly into art  so i would pay nothing for it. if it were a scene that i was actually going to hang in my living room.. a nature scene or or green misty mountain i might pay up to 300 but i would never pay higher unless it was a necessity.. why do you ask?
          This particular painting i like but not enough to put in a room.. its a cool to look at for a moment or if i had unlimited wealth to make a specific room for unusual art then i might buy it for a few hundred as acenic display but nothing more.. its not drawn well enough.. the art has to look time consuming and detailed for me to pay anything higher. this looks well, cool but amateur even though its Picasso.( because i just don't like his style, whatever its called. Abstract maybe? IDK.

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             PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Very genuine reply ...just thinking that it will sell for over a 100 million if it 'ever' comes to auction again.

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                mel22posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                of course, but only for its collector value determined by people who have over abused their wealth for material things.. Now if Bill gates buys this for a hundred million, maybe i'll rethink my posts in the other forum, otherwise its his to spend...LOL

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                   PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Yea! ...it's subjective

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    2uesdayposted 12 years ago

    I would not want it in my home, I would rather have a painting that I enjoyed looking at. Any painting is only 'worth' what the highest bidder will pay for it; I mean worth in a monetary way. Paintings are sometimes owned as investments rather than for appreciation and that alters what they are sold for.

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       PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       People only invest on paintings when someone loves that painting on the other end.

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          2uesdayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Art is also used as an investment tool, by the wealthy or big companies who buy the paintings as a financial investment.

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             PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Buying gold is an investment?  -Why is that an worthy investment? Where does the value of that investment come from?

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                2uesdayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                True - gold is used/bought as an investment as is coffee and diamonds and also sometimes people do that with paintings/art.
                
                
                The financial gain comes in selling the item for more than you paid for it if you can. The people who bought gold ten years ago and who sell it now have made a profit. The same happens with the work of famous and potentially artists. Gold is seen as a safe investment which people turn to in times of financial crisis. I know of these things but am not an investor so am not an expert on it.
                
                For someone buying a painting as a financial investment they could be motivated by the love of the work of the artist but their interest might just be one of financial gain.

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                   PhenomWriterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   In the end - someone does love the painting, for he buys the painting; if that were not, the investor would have run away from the painting. That's the point.
                   
                   "People only invest on paintings when someone loves that painting on the other end."

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          sunforgedposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          ?
          
          What gives you that idea?
          
          People invest in art as they would anything else, they believe the art(product) will appreciate in value and could one day resell for more then they paid.
          
          Been hanging out with many investors lately?

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    PhenomWriterposted 12 years ago

    Where does the 'value-thing' come from?

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       psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Willingness to pay. Which has a million different sources.

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    sunforgedposted 12 years ago

    hype, popularity, reviews, purchases by other investors, auction prices, shows in high profile locations, major commissions .. somewhere in their may be sbjective "taste" but thats more the bastion of a wealthy "collector" rather than a savvy investor.

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    LookingForWaldenposted 12 years ago

    Does anyone else find the title of this thread pretentious?
    
    Also, calling Picasso overrated and offering $50 for one of his works? 
    
    Philistines. :p

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    cat on a soapboxposted 12 years ago

    In some art, a large eye, in this case a dilated pupil, represents a window to the the soul. Hey, it's just a guess!

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