My first review for Artillery Magazine – almost two years ago now – was for my favorite museum in southern California, The Norton Simon. I recently went back and reread that article, and I found that my own writing was, to be kind, academic. Dry as a bone, really. There’s a strong voice, but one that is far more interested in saying something than showing something. It reduces the art to a history lesson instead of elevating it to the contemporary moment. But that’s what first steps are all about, making a place to look back and see how we’ve grown. Artillery Magazine has awarded me with that opportunity, and so for my fiftieth (and final) Pick of the Week, we’re revisiting The Norton Simon Museum and their new exhibition, “Unseen Picasso.”

I don’t love Picasso. I have a hard time liking the work of artists who I feel I would’ve disliked personally. It’s why I prefer Cézanne to Gaugin, or Caillebotte to Degas. But with Picasso, it extended further than the personal; I found his work, particularly later works, to be uninspiring and disconnected. In short, I’m a Georges Braque die-hard.

But it’s time to put old biases aside and welcome a new side to Picasso – an unseen side, if you will. Through this exhibition’s collection of lesser known lithographs, prints, and linocuts, I saw the threads of Picasso’s creativity and genius manifesting around me. In Dove (1949), for example, the bird, jutting out in sharp relief from the swirling gradations of black lithographic ink, is masterful and subtly detailed. It’s gentle gaze echoes its status as a symbol of peace.

What’s special about the prints in the exhibition is not only the technical wizardry and expert use of vibrant color (as in Bacchanal with Goats and Spectator (1959)), but the nods to Picasso’s creative process. The small inscriptions, the notes to the printers, the Roman numeral dating – these signs of the artists method in the work are personal in a way that is refreshing in a Picasso. They elevate the work as they ground it, making clear the labors of creation. In this room at the Norton Simon, Picasso is no longer a titan of Modern Art, but a craftsman, one who iterates ideas and claims perfection with a decisive “bon à tirer” – ready to print.

“Unseen Picasso,” and Picasso himself, conveys that we can all as artists and people strive for nothing but growth. I am immensely grateful for my time growing as a columnist with Artillery, and I look forward to continuing to grow and forge works that I too will proudly stamp, bon à tirer.

The Norton Simon Museum
411 W. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, California 90232
Thru Nov. 6th, 2021