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May 26, 2011

Sex and Salvation according to Picasso

Seeing the huge Picasso exhibit now touring the world reminded me of why Christians should make time for the fine arts.

Karen Swallow Prior

Amid the press of daily demands, most of us think we don’t have time for enjoying the fine arts. A recent visit to a Picasso exhibit reminded me why Christians especially should make time for it.

If Horace’s adage is correct, that good art both “teaches and delights” (a description that certainly applies to the works of the Creator), then Pablo Picasso has rightly earned his reputation as one of the great artists of the modern age.

"Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris," an exhibit touring worldwide during renovation of its permanent home in Paris, proved Picasso’s ability to delight even before gaining admission to the show. On the day I attended, traffic was gridlocked, the parking garage was full, and those like me with pre-paid reservations for an appointed time found out our tickets granted a place in line with hundreds of other ticket holders. And no wonder: During its three-month run at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (one of only three U.S. stops), a whopping 229,729 people made time for Picasso.

Of course, just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s good. But Picasso really is good. Known for his place in the avant-garde as one of the originators of cubism, Picasso also produced works in the schools of naturalism and classicism. This exhibit of 176 pieces from among those Picasso selected himself for his personal collection featured a breathtaking array of mediums, styles, genres, and techniques: chalk drawings, classical portraits, sculptures, collages, bronze busts, and photographs.

To dismiss Picasso’s more abstract paintings as mere child’s play, as some do, is a great error. This was a serious artist. To prepare for the creation of his greatest masterpiece, Les Desmoiselles d ’Avignon (1907), Picasso produced 1,000 sketches and studies. Although the eleven-room exhibit represented a fraction of the works produced over a lifetime (Picasso began painting as a teenager and didn’t stop until his death in 1973, at age 92) from it, a worldview clearly emerges. So, too, does the reminder that Christians who wish to have significant influence in the culture ignore the arts at their peril.

In How Should We Then Live?, Francis Schaeffer explains, “In great art the technique fits the worldview being presented.” On this test alone, Picasso passes with flying colors. Les Desmoiselles d ‘Avignon was shocking both for its content (nude prostitutes) and its form (human figures reduced to geometric angles representing multiple perspectives).

Literature professor Gene Edward Veith describes how Picasso’s efforts to depict reality “as it is” resulted, ironically, in an extreme version of classical formalism that turns in on itself. In the “attempt to pin down objective form,” Picasso “reduces human beings to objects,” mere “grotesque caricatures or mathematical patterns.” Picasso’s work marked a watershed in art history, Veith says, ushering in a kind of art that's “cut off from ordinary perception and dependent upon theory. The work of art no longer can stand alone; it needs an explanation.”

The worldview expressed by Les Desmoiselles d ‘Avignon and the body of Picasso’s works is one in which the “real” or “nature” exists underneath the surfaces; reality cannot be singularly or finally captured or represented, so is analyzed and dissected beyond recognition. With Les Desmoiselles d ‘Avignon, Schaeffer claims, came the age of modern art, a period characterized by the same experimentation, subjectivity, and rejection of tradition that defines the modern worldview.

Take just one issue, one at the center of the culture wars and the focus of Picassos’ masterpiece: sex. The experimentation, subjectivity, and rejection of tradition that define modern art also describe Picasso’s approach to sex in both his life and his art.

Picasso was married twice and had numerous affairs, mistresses, and girlfriends. He depicted many of these women in his paintings. The various styles, colors, moods, and techniques of these works reveal the fragmentation of his relationships and his skewed perspective on sexual relationships. His depictions of women range from classical to naturalistic to cubist. His most characteristic feature — uneven faces in which one eye is higher than the other — reflects a disjointed worldview based on two ways of seeing the world: the way of nature (the lower) and the way of grace (the higher). Schaeffer describes these realms of grace and nature as those dealing with the things of God, universals, and meaning (grace), and the created order of humanity, particularities, and individual experience (nature). Both realms are evident in the body of Picasso’s works, but are rarely in harmony, tending instead to reflect a dichotomized view of nature and grace at war with one another.

Thus Picasso’s portrayals of sexual liaisons frequently resort to abstraction: discombobulated human figures intertwine, limbs arranged helter-skelter, recognizable as isolated parts but not as organic wholes. One mother who brought her young daughter to the exhibit stood before the surrealist painting Figures at the Seashore (1931), explaining to her child, “See? Here are arms . . . boobs . . . and legs.” When nature and grace are dissevered, so too is everything else. Schaeffer says that in the early modern age when nature was separated from God, nature began to “eat up” grace. One can see this phenomenon at work in Picasso’s paintings and personal life.

One of Picasso’s mistresses, Marie-Thérèse Walter, was only 17 when the then-married 45-year-old first seduced her. She later bore him a daughter but eventually found herself replaced by a new mistress. A few years after Picasso’s death, Marie-Thérèse hanged herself.

Just as Christians can and should critique the worldviews expressed by the world’s great artists, so too is our worldview displayed through our creative works. What worldview does the world see in the artistry of Christians today?

Comments

"Christians should make time for the fine arts." Good luck spreading that message among those who are scandalized by Michelangelo's statue of david.

Thank you! So often art--and art addressing sexuality--is seemingly eschewed within Christian communities. I myself am a Christian artist, and often within my art I illuminate sexual issues. I don't paint pornography, and
I can distinguish between a nude portrait that is intended to stimulate the mind from that which is intended to stimulate libido.
Seeing Desmoiselles featured in this article is refreshing. The questions you inspire in the article are refreshing, too. I think your final inquiry is great. I often ask myself the same question, which is not so simply answered.
Best of all, you challenge us to think.
The only issue about which I'm upset is quite personal; I just wish that I, too, had the opportunity to snag a ticket to the show!

"Both realms are evident in the body of Picasso’s works, but are rarely in harmony, tending instead to reflect a dichotomized view of nature and grace at war with one another."

This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

yeah, everything is about salvation ;-
Did Picasso say about (any) salvation? Or, are you just putting on his mouth?
Is 'sex and salvation' one phrase? sex something to do with salvation, or salvation of sex? Or you are just putting these together as an eye-catcher? Or you are talking about the theme of sex in Picasso's arts, or something about sex in his life, or something he wrote about it? - all not common with the theme of 'salvation' (whatever it means ;-

In other words, what's the point you're driving at? It's not clear on the title.

Karen, You MUST read Wendy Steiner's excellent discussion of Picasso's Demoiselles. Here's my summary from Saving Leonardo: ". . . Kant had sought to unify the rival claims of empiricism and rationalism by proposing that the senses give the basic *data* of knowledge, while reason gives the rational *form* that knowledge takes. What interested the cubists was the rational form. Their faceted surfaces, geometric lines, and angled planes shifted the focus of painting. Art was no longer the portrayal of a subject but the investigation of form.
Perhaps the most famous example was Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which rendered five prostitutes in a brothel broken up into geometrical patterns. Picasso’s painting was intendedas a “rationalist lesson,” writes Wendy Steiner. Its goal was to teach viewers
to not see “sexualized women” but merely a problem in “space relations.” Viewers were supposed to “look through” immoral subject matter in order to apprehend pure form.

Nancy, thank you for the recommendation. I will put Steiner's book on my "to read" list -- right after Saving Leonardo. :)

KSP

"What worldview does the world see in the artistry of Christians today?"

As a former (read: recovering) actress, this is a question that continues to haunt me.

During my 12 years of acting, the Christian majority's reaction to hearing my vocation was, "Are you going to do Christian theatre?" Any church I went to wanted to see Sunday skits. Long-time friends didn't understand why I would choose to work in a secular world (although it never seemed strange to them that everyone else -- engineers, nurses, educators -- worked in a secular world). There was a place for art in the church, and that place was safe.

This was confusing for me. I felt like the church did not understand my desire to do "real" theatre, and I also interpreted that to mean that maybe God didn't want me to do the classics either. What ended up happening was a prodigal journey: I didn't see how art fit in with Christianity, and so I left Christianity.

It's a long story, but now that I've come back into the faith, I have abandoned acting. I have many artist friends around me who see the need to awaken the church to ART and God's creative powers. So many artists -- those who make a living doing what God has given them the creative capacity to do -- feel marginalized in the church. What suffers, I think, is that the Christian worldview is NOT being heard or spread in the culture in an effective way. What ends up happening is the Christian movies and books are tailored to one subsection of the population; usually, people who are already saved. To the rest of culture, these things are laughable. Honestly, do you think the Left Behind series was ever considered for an Oscar?

I'm not saying Christians need to work to gain the respect of culture, but we need to be involved in SHAPING the culture. What would happen to our culture if Hollywood became influenced by Christian directors -- those who had dedicated their lives not only to God, but to perfecting a very difficult craft? What would happen if Lady Gaga became a Christian?

So whereas "Christian art" might be generating a Christian worldview, we need to pray that the audience broadens -- that the church will find a place for artists to work in a secular world while remaining grounded in the body -- so that the larger culture will be affected by the Gospel of Christ.

I have never forgotten the lesson I learned from viewing the Picasso exhibit at the Met in NYC over a decade ago. The theme was the various stages of his art, and seeing the full frontal force of its devolution in sequence was astounding, especially as it corresponded to his utterly narcissistic, A-moral personal life. For all the goopy praise heaped on this man, it seemed to me his art was better characterized as a reflection of what happens to the gifted human soul when the self is served in preference to GOD.

Even One Sparrow: thank you for sharing your story and your righteous frustration. I don't think that "Christian art" necessarily, or even usually, promotes a Christian worldview. In fact, the very notion of "Christian art" (with the exception of truly sacred or ecclesiastical art, i.e., art used in worship) tends to operate along the same sort of dichotomy that Picasso's art does and that you experienced, unfortunately, as a Christian trying to fulfill your calling as an artist. Your point about other callings and vocations (plumbers, accountants, etc.) being served out "in the world" is spot on. Thank you. Christians should be shaping the culture in all our works and ways, and that included GOOD art that reflects the entirety of creation and the human experience.

KSP

I chuckle at "Christian Art" and "Christian Music." Picasso was without a shadow of doubt one of the greatest artists of all time -- just look at the variety of forms of art in which he did well. That he was a failed human being makes him no different from . . . me! The constant evolution in his art (look at how he excelled in his teens in the classical forms, how he moved into cubism, how he did not stop there) was an effort to do more, and is not that drive what in those with less creative ability, such as myself, is voiced as "trying to know God"?
Another failed human, Oscar Wilde, once wrote, "We are all down in the gutter, but some of us are looking up at the stars!" I think Paul would have approved!

Thanks for broaching this subject. As an artist, I've heard some pretty strange opinions from fellow believers: "Good to see you painting again! Now you can paint pictures of Jesus and glorify God!" As a teacher: "We want you to focus on uplifting, Christ-honoring subject matter in your classes. Landscapes with flowers are nice."

I'm glad to see what seems to be a greater engagement with the fine arts on the part of Christians. Schaeffer was one of the fathers of this renewed interaction; though I think time might have cast a different light on some of the modern art movements than he saw, I really appreciate his insights and lessons.

You can tell a lot about a culture by its art. Academic art has headed in far different postmodern directions since Picasso. But our dominant art forms aren't found in museums and galleries ... they're in advertising and entertainment. What worldview would Christian art reveal? Easy answer: head to your nearest Christian bookstore -- and tremble

*note:* in the above comment, my overly-broad references to "Christians" are to my experiences with my own subset of Christianity -- North American evangelicalism. Sorry!

thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the topic under discussion, ithink the youth of today does not respect the sanctity of marriage and the intentions of God in regards to sex, i therefore think is about time pastors in particular and church workers in general takes this topic seriously,thanks

The arts are so important. Think of what survives from previous centuries -- the art, the literature. Artists of all areas are prophets in a way to our culture. But an artist or a writer or an actor who is a Believer must follow the project God leads him or her to do. Some are called to paint/write/act about Jesus, but most aren't. God is a God who uses story to open people's hearts to the truth. Some of the most powerful works of art have nothing (on the surface) to do with Jesus but in fact they speak powerfully to the spirit.

I am a writer and also an artist. I write what I feel led to write. And I paint what I am led to paint. Often I start a painting not knowing where it will end. I so would love to paint a picture of Jesus but I have as yet not been led to this to do this.

If a person is not of the artistic persuasion (of whatever kind) he or she may think all arts should be blatantly about Jesus. But this is just not true. It isn't how God works.

I also want to add that when an artist/writer/actor approaches a project to preach a truth to her audience, this isn't good - - it is like putting a noose around the project's neck and saying we're going to go this way.

The most powerful projects are the ones that the artist follows the project, goes where it "tells" the artist to go.

Blessings to you to try and overcome the narrow hard view of artistry in the church today. I myself simply adore Salvador Dali and was blessed to see his works at the High in ATL. Yes, I a Christian family man cried in awe at the largest two works.I grew up dreaming of being that one day. I am an artist and musician in heart and ability, but must do other things to earn a decent living and pay my bills. "Jack of all trades" pretty good at all of them, master of a couple. yet in the church today we are left behind grossly in the artistic endeavours. Fine arts all around have been left to the enemy to manage. It is sad and blackens my innermost being as it stifles my creativity when I have no outlet. Fine line between angels and demons , a life of extremes for an artist of any type in the modern world. It makes following Jesus so much harder!
People wonder why genius artist/musicians/actors/inventors seem to spiral in extremes and burn out quickly, it's because we aren't allowed access to The Creator and acceptance in the body, we then question who am I and why would God make me like this? only to be closed up, stifled, constipated if you will, and not appreciated. I ask , do we have to wait until Christ's return and only then will I get to be who I really am? Boy are there going to be alot of artists and musicians and creativity at that time, I figure many of what is "creative" now will be exposed as fraud (think GaGa) Ravi Zacharias had a few good article on art and christianity in the Just thinking newsletter. Google it.

To Brittany,

I understand and agree with the call to be a Christian artist. What worries me, though, is your linking the depiction of nudity with the notion of stimulating the mind. I assume that by this you mean thinking about nudity in a Christian way, correct? My question is: do you have a Scriptural basis? It's kind of sad that most of the posts, otherwise good, don't cite any Scripture at all. I think that is a problem, because most of them write in support of Christian art, etc. Personally, I believe there is a dangerous path we can take if all we do is to make personal feelings and experience as the main standard of judging art. Perhaps you have no sensual reaction when seeing a nude, but do you know for sure that you are not playing with the mind of a teenager or even a married man? Ask king David about his thoughts on seeing the nude of Batsheba! And he was a man after God's heart! I believe that our bodies ought to be a witness to this fallen world, whether it's an art depiction, or fashion, etc. I suggest reading 1Corinthians 6:19, Romans 16:19, 1Timothy 2:9, 1John 2:16.

DB, I feel you ought to read Song of Solomon - I describe it as an opera of love, seduction, sex and passion.

There is nothing wrong with nudity depicted in art with it is a celebration of the human form. The only issue is context. For instance, I admire Art Deco female nude sculptures.

If a man cannot control his lust when he sees a Botticelli's Birth of Venus (for example), then it is him with the problem, not the artist.

The human body is a magnificent creation and a credit to our Creator, so much so that Adam and Eve spent their entire time in the garden of Eden naked.

With artistic endeavours, context is everything. I won't bore you with scriptual quotes for to reference, you seem to know your way around a bible pretty well.

As SG noted, North American Christians (actually Americans in general) seem to have a quaint prudery with it comes to sex and nudity - I suspect it goes back to the Puritan founding of the US.

Nora,

Thanks for your reply.
I agree with the fact that we ought not be ashamed of our bodies. I also agree with your exemple from the Song of Solomon, with one exception: I honestly don't see the "sex" in it, unless we get specific on the definition...
On your take on nudity, I would repeat what I said earlier: in what context do we discuss this issue?

From an aesthetic consideration, then yes, artful depiction of nudity may be ok.
But if we discuss it in a context informed by Christian faith, then I believe we have a problem. It's 101 Bible commonsense that we should take not only the Song of Solomon, but the Scripture as a whole, to get a philosophy of aesthetics. You need more than Interview with a Vampire to understand the vision of Ann Rice. That is why I asked that we don't ignore the Biblical worldview. You will be surprised that our freedom with nudity is not that wide. I would be glad to bore me with the Bible. I still insist that too often we have become bored with it, unfortunately so!

And may I ask: who defines the context of nudity? You offer the example of Botticelli's. Why not the front cover of Playboy as well? Or other images!

I still insist that the reason the Scripture (both the OT and NT) has so many warnings against sinning with the eyes and the imagination is because it represents a real danger. Research in the last couple of years has confirmed that number of women addicted to pornography has risend 30% from 10-15 years ago.

Frankly, I would have a very hard time imagining Jesus or Paul musing on the appropriate or innapropriate context of nudity. But then, again, neither was married, and so how could they know...?

I have recently attended a teaching session on the life of Paul and the teacher said as he was a Pharisee who were always married,he must have been married(perhaps he was a widower).
Let us remember that Jesus was tempted in every way that we humans are and that includes sexual sin,but we know as he was sinless did not give in to the temptations.

"Frankly, I would have a very hard time imagining Jesus or Paul musing on the appropriate or innapropriate context of nudity. But then, again, neither was married, and so how could they know...? "

Yeah, DB, it wasn't like they were omniscient or divinely inspired or anything like that.

If you saw a house with dormers at the bottom, the roof on edge through the middle, chimney laid out horizontally, and the joists fanning out like the sun's rays, I suppose you could conclude that the man who built it was indeed an absolute master carpenter to accomplish such a carefully constructed--and meaningless mess. To me, art has a purpose: to convey beauty, tell a story, create emotions that help us reflect on what is right and good, illustrate history or even the basic elements of design, or merely decorate.

So, yes, one could say Picasso was good with brush, pen, and pallet knife. I could never, however, concede that he was a "great artist."

Fascinating. I feel that Picasso's art is rife with meaning. That makes him a great artist. If an individual does not find meaning in a work of art, does that make it null?

I love true art (all forms) because it makes me think. What could be more inspiring?

P.S. the difference between "The Birth of Venus" and a Playboy cover is intent: the latter is intended to titillate and inspire lust, which makes it pornography; the former is not.

I love Picasso. The way he worked with shapes and colors, his art is just intriguing to behold.

I'm intrigued by Nancy's comment, above, that states that the goal of this method of painting was to get the viewer to see past immorality, and just see shapes (paraphrase). It makes me think that it could be a rather rough comparison of what we are supposed to do, as followers of Christ: See past the outside of people, which may be "immoral" to us, or disgusting, etc., and see what they REALLY are--created by God.

My all-time favorite work of art is "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli. To compare such a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance to something as sordid as playboy betrays a frightening lack of depth. This evangelical, Western Christian preoccupation with the body/sex is really embarrassing. Artwork created by a talented artist, rooted in mythology, filled with symbolism, and a joy to behold is quite different from a picture of a naked woman meant for some guy to masturbate to. And to echo another commented, if someone is that turned on by something like this, it's THEIR problem.

And db? Your argument that, "Research in the last couple of years has confirmed that number of women addicted to pornography has risend 30% from 10-15 years ago" is a strawman in this example. I'm FAIRLY certain that masterpieces of the Italian renaissance are NOT a gateway drug to the world of porn addiction.

"Just as Christians can and should critique the worldviews expressed by the world’s great artists, so too is our worldview displayed through our creative works. What worldview does the world see in the artistry of Christians today?"

Indeed! I've been reading Susan Sontag's book "On Photography" and mulling over this same question lately. If to photograph something is to confer importance upon it then... upon what ought I confer importance? To what end? What message am I communicating by, say, retouching a photo?

Anyway. Great post. I'll be mulling over the questions you raised for a while...

To the former actress,

How sad to hear that your pursuit of doing "what you are wired to do" lead to an abandonment of faith...but equally sad...the abandonment of your vocation. I am grateful for your testimony of reconciliation with God. I will pray today that there may also be reconciliation with your gift for acting.

I have walked with Christ for nearly 30 years. It has been a rich journey because I more deeply understand the beautiful gift of salvation I have been given with each passing year. But, the past few years have been by far the most fascinating part of the journey as God has helped me more deeply understand how He made me. I grew in faith for many years as I followed God’ directions as outlined in His Word. But each day that I learn to better use the gifts He has given me I am engaged in intimate worship of my Creator hour by hour even minute by minute. It overwhelms me to tears. I had no idea that this season of faith was coming and cannot fully express my surprise and amazement.

I stand today on the verge of a new path for our family as well as a new career path because I am learning to live as God made me. To God be the glory!

I love both God and Picasso. I know about his life and lifestyle and to be honest I find his adulterous living something which inspired his art and made it what it is. Should I just ignore such beauty and stick to looking at only pictures of Jesus ? It's something I struggle with resolving.

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