True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

The Mystery of Picasso
Astounding time-lapse photography of Picasso painting. You chiefly see
his paintings (without him) as if they were organic organisms evolving,
growing, and mutating. Picasso’s relentless energy is overwhelming. You
quickly realize that beneath every painting of his are 100 other paintings
that have been painted over. As one image morphs into another – all
equally riveting – you wonder, what is Picasso searching for? He seems
to be hunting for something as he layers one variation over another. He’s
said elsewhere (not much dialog here; just time lapse film) that he is
not looking for beauty but truth. I decided he keeps painting over until
he does something he’s never done before. In the spirit of this layering,
the two independent commentary tracks by two art historians are worth
listening to and much preferred to the corny music soundtrack. It’s not
often we get to see greatness at work. This film, made by a French director
in the 1950s, is a stroke of genius.
By Henri-Georges
Clouzot
1956, 75 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
The magic moment when an artist
confronts a blank page (left). A bull’s
head (below left) gradually exfoliates
to become the colorful eruption below
it. A seaside scene (below right)
is overpainted 50 times to morph
into the final scene (bottom right).
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