Picasso "Centaur" Back on View
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| Pablo Picasso, Centaur, 1955. LACMA, gift of Gloria and David L. Wolper |
LACMA has put on view Picasso's Centaur, an assemblage-sculpture that has not been displayed since the current installation of Modern art opened in 2021.
Centaur was created in the course of filming Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Mystery of Picasso, a 1956 documentary that won a special jury prize at Cannes and flopped in its U.S. release. The 85-minute film shows Picasso creating original paintings and drawings—often, P.O.V. the picture plane with almost no dialog or camera movement. The paintings and drawings were supposedly destroyed at the completion of production, making The Mystery of Picasso a literal art film, the only record of the works.
Centaur was Picasso's idea. He asked Clouzot, "Shouldn't the end of the film have something in it made from the film?" He improvised with a lens box, a light stanchion, and an easel stand. The sculpture was bequeathed to Picasso's son, Claude, who sold it to filmmaker David L. Wolper. Wolper and wife Gloria gave it to LACMA in 1985.
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| Back view |
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| The Mystery of Picasso still with Centaur at right |
Comments
> since the current
> installation of Modern
> art opened in 2021.
4 to 5 years? What's that all about?
Govan and his people can't claim a drawn-out schedule for artwork A or artwork B is because a new building is still under construction.
A few objects displayed in the Resnick for way too long, which riff on Met-Opera-type chandeliers, instead of showing objects in storage since before 2020 is another case of "what the hell are you doing?!" When I thought Josiah McElheny's works were on loan, that really annoyed me. But the museum apparently at least owns them. Hallelujah for small favors.
Meanwhile, all the hardscape under and around the Geffen building, since there's not much landscaping, sure could use some more sculptures:
https://lacmaonfire.blogspot.com/2019/09/lacma-lends-6-sculptures-to-south-coast.html
Meanwhile, what's going on with this artwork?:
https://unframed.lacma.org/2021/02/08/alexander-liberman%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cphoenix%E2%80%9D-journey-rest
^ I get the feeling that LACMA's director and staff are less interested in their collection, including one of their few Rembrandts, than exhibit areas having enough space for performers who ride around in bicycles and skateboards.