Picasso: Themes and Variations

Friday night at MoMA is quite like stepping into a Fellini film. Since superstore Target covers admission fees, every gallery is teeming with crowds of people. Last night was no exception. The real buzz was over Marina Abramovic's hugely successful interactive performance piece where she faces off with museum goers who wait in line to take turns sitting in the chair across from her. As they meet each other's gaze, the tension between the artist and her opponent reads like a life-sized chess match.

As for the other shows, the real standout to me was the Picasso print survey. It wasn't exhaustive, but it did provide a terrific overview of his themes and his printmaking techniques. The images of his different lovers provided yet another chess match-- this time Picasso making the moves, swapping one woman for another, using his pen to capture the whole dynamic on paper. Masterful in execution, these prints offered insight into the artist's heart as well as his ability to morph his style with unsurpassable ability.

Matisse and Picasso

There has been much talk of the rivalry between the two artists in art history circles. Which artist had better a sense of color? Who was more skillful with the pen? Of course Picasso's prolific and extensive career brought innumerable innovations, but one cannot forget Matisse's ability to capture the essence of a woman's face, even her whole identity, with a few simple lines. One thing they could agree on was a love of birds. Who can blame them?