were the words I overheard as two ladies walked through a roomful of Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y Picasso’s work. I was in my first year at the Corcoran School of Art. It was my custom to frequent the various museums of Washinton, D. C. , on this day I was at the National Gallery of Art.
These blue haired ladies were about the age I am now. The first lady said, “Do you like Picasso ?”
Her friend responded, “I don’t like his work.”
The first lady then said, “I don’t like his work either, BUT I wish I understood him.”
They ambled towards the Impressionist Rooms as I took a seat on the wood bench in the middle of the room. It came to me that there was a choice presented: One could learn about the work of Picasso and its meaning OR one could remain ignorant of the ideas behind the work. Learning requires a little work & Ignorance is the lazy person’s domain.
Pablo Picasso, Guernica, Paris, 1 May to 4 June 1937, Oil on canvas , 349.3 x 776.6 cm, Zervos IX, 65, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
