10 things about cubism:
1.Denial of classical conception of beauty
2.geometrical analytical approach probably a direct influene of Cezanne who is said to have said "....artists should treat mature in terms of the cylinder, the sphere and the cone..."
3.rejects the concept of perspective asa a sign system taken from the Renaissance. (I particularly love this, it relates very much to the post structuralist stuff we teach advanced kids at school. In other words if you don't have the 'language' you don't have the meaning.)
4.the cubists looked to 'primitive' art for the new 'language'
5.There were different stages of cubism
6.Analytic(c1907 - 12) - pulling things apart, showing objects as the mind sees them (not the eye)
7.Synthetic (1913 - 1920's) -combining objects, reducing things, collage, limited neutral palette
8.Nice quote by Picasso "Painting is a blind man's proffession"
9. Another nice quote by Picasso - "It takes a long time to become young"
10.Loved collaging with found objects - brought collage into the circle of fine art.
Picasso 1921
Picasso - the Guitar player - 1908
Oh yeah ,I forgot to mention the love guitars and mandolins!
Reading about cubism has been a lot like reading about the pre-raphaelites - I have given myself permission to really like it ...like I did when I first saw a 'Picasso' (in a book of course) probably when i was about 14....and thought it was so clever...and then I sort of moved past it...good to back and think things are nice just because they are.
Braque 1910 - guitars with flute