Two Violins — The Discovery and Expression of Art

Violin, 1995, C. Pic Michel

Picolin, 2012, C. Pic Michel

When we discovered Cubism, we did not have the aim of discovering Cubism. 

We only wanted to express what was in us.  - Pablo Picasso 

Sometimes students say they "don't know how" to draw or paint. I am generally thrilled with this information and tell them to keep going.  Recently a student suggested that I was supposed to be teaching her. I agreed, and I was. There are more than 7 billion ways (at least, how many people are in the world?) to artistically interpret a subject.  If I tell students how to do it, I am limiting them to one way.  If I let them go long enough, they begin to discover what they don't know.

This is what artists teach, patience and appreciation of the artistic process which is exploration, discovery and expression.  There is really no right or wrong when this is the aim of one's work. Getting comfortable not knowing is simultaneously becoming more able to explore and discover the subject and media and bring them together through artistic expression.  

This is why I enjoy so many media and love most what I know least. I work to find what I don't know. It is an adventure. When we let go, all sorts of things come through, sometimes consciously, sometimes without our knowledge and our lives are filled with surprises and wonder.  

Earlier this year I was working on an abstract relief sculpture of a violin.  It was reminiscent of a layer painting I made almost 20 years ago, but when I looked at the sculpture from a distance I discovered hints of a Picasso self-portrait right in the middle of the composition. After seeing that, intersecting cubist colors across the sculpture was a blast.

Picasso's quote speaks to the beauty of art, not as a style or technique but a way of life.  Whether we're painting or just going about the day, the lessons of art makes not knowing a beautiful thing.