Book Exchange: Picasso’s Bird in Paris

Dear Laura,

With your last entry, you have me thinking about Paris. It was an amazing trip! I was looking back at my photos and thinking about all the art we saw. One moment really made an impression on me at the Picasso Museum. To see the designer Paul Smith take Picasso’s work and consider the entire space in which it is viewed made me feel inspired. From the room showing Picasso’s obsession with Edouard Manet’s “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe” with astroturf and green walls to represent the park, a room with bold stripes, to the vintage wallpaper. It all seemed to work with the phase of work Picasso was in. The one I was most surprised with was the vintage wallpaper room. It didn’t work against the artwork but rather accentuated it. That was unexpected. That experience has made me think about how we curate artwork in a home, among all the other items, colors, and patterns of a life collected. Perhaps the museum is on to something here in connecting how people want to live with art vs. viewing with white walls.

For this piece of art I decided to use Picasso’s little bird we saw in a round window in the museum. I used various printed papers as a nod to Paul Smith, with a whitewash to tone down the colors.

There is so much more that inspired me on this trip. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to go and spend time with you!

Tina