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Produce Like Picasso
In ancient times, art teachers told their students that “finishing is better than starting.” Today, you are going to learn about the greatest artist of the 20th century and, perhaps, the greatest finisher of all-time: Pablo Picasso.
“Finishing is better than starting.”
August 25,1944: Liberation Day in Paris
Aerial Dogfights Around Paris
Street to Street Fighting
Snipers Shoot from the Rooftops
In His Studio, Picasso Focuses…
A Stray Bullet Barely Misses His Head
Moves his art supplies, model, and his dog to a new location. Finishes 5 pieces.
Why Picasso?
Brian Sullivan.
@BrianKSullivan @bigdesign
Hi, my name is
#picasso
Design Strategy & Execution
Run 3 start of the art UX testing facilities at a major software firm.
Writer and Speaker
J. Schuh is a Creative Person
We organize the Big Design Conference.
September 4-6, 2014
Design Like Da Vinci
13,000 Pages of Sketches
Da Vinci was great at the first 10%, which is starting a project.
Only 30 Finished Paintings
Picasso was a Prolific Producer
Completed Projects Source: Guinness Book of World Records (2013)
The Louvre Shows 35,000 Pieces of Art
Picasso once said, “Give me a museum and I will fill it up.” He could fill up this museum more than 4 times over.
A Tale of Two Masters
13,000 pages of sketches
Da Vinci did the first 10%.
13,500 finished paintings
Picasso did the last 10%.
Most Stolen Artist in the World
Stolen Pieces of Art Source: BBC Special Report (2010)
Daily Average For His Career
Number of Days Per Year x Years of Picasso’s Career Number of Days Worked
365.25 75
27,394
Daily Average for His Career = 7
Known for His Artistic Periods
• Traditional (in school)
• Blue Period
• Rose Period
• African-Influenced
• Cubism
• Neo-Classicalism
• Surrealism
10 of Top 50 Paintings Sold at Auction
We Kept Coming Back to This Number
Completed Projects Source: Guinness Book of World Records (2013)
Read 13 Books on Picasso
Can We Apply Picasso to Our Work?
5P’s of Productivity
Passion
Passion Leads to Productivity
“Art is a lie, which makes us see the truth.”
1. Find your passion. 2. Get support. 3. Educate yourself. 4. Develop your brand. 5. Life events fuel passion.
Picasso’s First Word: Pencil
His first word was “piz”, which is short for lapiz. It means ‘pencil’ in Spanish.
Picasso at age 4.
Picasso’s Father Taught His Son • Jose Ruiz taught brush
technique. He was known for painting doves.
• When he notices his son loves to draw, the lessons begin.
“The Back, The Tail, and The Ear”
Years later, Picasso said he believed his talent was magical because he could start anywhere.
Source: John Richardson, A Life of Picasso: Volume 1, 2012.
While cutting out paper animals with his sister, she challenges him to start in different places.
First Oil Painting of Picasso
• Picasso finished his first oil painting at 9 years of age.
• Upon seeing it, his father said he no longer wanted to paint.
Picasso’s Le Picador (1890)
Huge Desire To Build a Personal Brand
• Pablo Picasso’s birth name: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz
• Mother’s maiden name: Maria Picasso y Lopez
Picasso’s Dona Maria (1923)
The Name is The Brand Different signatures:
Pablo Ruiz P. Ruiz
P. Ruiz Picasso P. R. Picasso Pablo Picasso Paul Picasso
Picasso
“Can you imagine me being called Ruiz? Pablo Ruiz? Diego-Jose Ruiz? Have you ever noticed the double “s” is very rare in Spanish? There’s a double “s” in Matisse, Rousseau, and Picasso.”
Source: John Richardson, A Life of Picasso: Volume 1, 2012.
Barcelona School of Fine Arts
Picasso finishes a one-month entrance exam in one week. He’s immediately accepted, but often daydreams in classes.
Often Sent to Detention
"For being a bad student, I was sent to detention. I liked it there, because I took along a sketch pad and drew incessantly. I could have stayed there drawing forever."
Trauma Fueled His Passion for Art
• When he was 13, his sister was dying from diphtheria. Picasso makes a vow to God: “Save my sister and I will give up my art.”
• She dies at Christmas and Picasso paints like the Devil.
First Communion (1896)
Rejects Father’s Dream, Quits School
“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.”
“In art, one must kill one’s father.”
Passion Points of Picasso 1. Find your passion
(drawing for Picasso). 2. Family support for
focus and education. 3. Find a mentor, early
on (Picasso’s father). 4. Get an education (for
the sake of learning). 5. Know life events will
fuel your passion.
Purpose
Passion is your fuel. Purpose is your engine
Purpose-Driven Design Is Productive
“Good artists copy. Great artists steal.”
1. Seek new experiences. 2. Defy the status quo. 3. Take risks. Do not copy. 4. Plunder from the past. 5. Look beyond your own
design discipline.
“Good artists copy. Great artists steal.”
Stealing is Making Something Yours “Copying is doing exactly
like someone else does.
Stealing is when you take something, change it so much, the innovation is so disguised, so changed, that it looks like it belongs to you.”
Source: Dr. Enrique Mallen, Forbes 2013.
Original Branding Called “Picasso Mac”
Steve Jobs hated it. “Good” artists copy.
Finder’s Icon is Based on Picasso
“I do not seek. I find.” - Pablo Picasso
Picasso’s Two Characters (1934)
“Great” artists steal.
Picasso Shown in “Think Different” Ads
Apple Store Inspired by Ritz-Carlton
Someone greets you at the door.
The Genius Bar dispenses advice, rather than alcohol.
“Shameless About Stealing Great Ideas” “I learned about serif
and san serif typefaces at Reed College. Ten year later, we designed the Mac to be the first computer with beautiful typography.”
Source: Steve Jobs, Huffington Post, 2011.
30th anniversary of the Macintosh.
Both Continually Innovated
Blue Period Cubism Neo-Classical
Smartphones Tablets Computers
Picasso Greatly Influenced Steve Jobs “Steve Jobs admired
Picasso because he could have taken a conventional approach and done it well for the rest of his life, but Picasso (like Jobs) tried to change things.”
Source: Dr. Enrique Mallen, Forbes 2013.
“Real Artists Ship!”
Matisse Buys Two African Statues
Magical Qualities
Craftsmanship of the Statues
Masks Used in African-Influenced Period
• From 1906 to 1909, masks dominate Picasso’s work.
Masks Used in Early Cubist Work
“To copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others, it leads to sterility.”
Purpose Points of Picasso 1. Have an open mind to
new experiences. 2. Be original. Challenge
the status quo. 3. Look beyond your
own design discipline. 4. Steal great ideas, but
make them your own. 5. Take risks. Do not
copy other people. 6. Great artists ship!
Proficiency is your mastery of tools and techniques.
Passion. Purpose. Proficiency.
Mastering Tools and Techniques “I am doing that which I cannot do, in order to learn how to do it.”
1. Get an education. 2. Find a creative space. 3. Research, research,
research. 4. Practice, practice,
practice. 5. Network, network,
network.
Early Formal Education in School • Taught brush technique
by his father, Jose Ruiz.
• Attended the Barcelona School of Fine Arts
Picasso’s Le Picador (1890) Barcelona School of Fine Arts
At 14 Years Old, Father Rents a Studio
• He prefers to work in solitude and silence.
• Dogs, cats, and a monkey can go into the studio.
• Maids could not clean (or dust) his studio.
Shared a Studio, Set the Schedule
When Picasso shares a studio, he sets the schedule for everyone’s time to paint, eat, and sleep. He prefers to work alone at night.
Skip Classes to Visit Local Museums
When he got bored, Picasso skipped school to visit museums. He loves the works of El Greco and Goya. He did his own research.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Lovers of the Street (1900)
Absinthe Drinker (1901)
Head of a Woman (1901)
Networks With Artists
Sketch of The Four Cats
• Tertulia is an informal gathering of artists and musicians.
• The Four Cats was his first network.
• They talk about art, music, current events, literature and more.
Joins French Avant-Garde (Vanguard) • Henri Matisse
• Guillaume Apollinaire
• Salvador Dali
• Frank Lloyd Wright
• Paul Gauguin
• Georgia O’Keefe
• Jackson Pollock
• Henry Moore
• Gertrude Stein
• Miles Davis
• Duke Ellington
• Samuel Beckett
• Henry Miller
• Isadora Duncan
• Virginia Woolf
• Andy Warhol
Proficiency Points of Picasso
1. Move beyond just pushing pixels.
2. Get an education and learn on your own.
3. Research, research, research.
4. Practice , practice, practice.
5. Network, network, network.
Persistence
Persistence when you get stuck.
Persistence Keeps You Productive “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”
1. Establish a routine. 2. Develop a process. 3. Learn from setbacks. 4. Master different design
disciplines. 5. Seek longevity. Take a
long view.
Set a Routine and Stick to It • 10am: Wake Up
• 11am: Eat & Exercise
• 12pm: Start Work
• 4pm: Siesta (or nap)
• 8pm: End Work
• 9pm: Eat Dinner
• 11pm: Night Work
• 2am: Sleep Picasso’s Ceramic Clock
Day After Liberation Day
Picasso has so many visitors—artists, reporters, GIs, resistance fighters, art dealers. His schedule is thrown off. Picasso is forced to open up his studio every Thursday.
“Paris is liberated, but Picasso is besieged.”
Developed Good Work Habits
1. Produces rough sketches.
2. Explores alternatives.
3. Iterate his sketches.
4. Reduces alternatives.
5. Begins his project.
6. Picks workable designs.
7. Took photos in later years.
8. Finishes his work.
9. Documents in a journal.
Picasso would occasionally get stuck. The Portrait of Gertrude Stein is an example. She sat 90 times for this portrait. And, Picasso still could not get it right. He is so stressed out that he takes a short vacation to Spain. While working with clay, he figures it out. He paints her head from memory and finishes the portrait.
Persistent with His Projects
Picasso worked in different mediums—paintings, lithographs, etching, wood, steel, ceramics, illustrations. He would take elements from different mediums and apply it to whatever he was working on.
Mastered Different Disciplines
Prints Ceramics Stage Designs
Sculptures Costumes Paintings
Career Persistence: Paris or Bust
Picasso’s Self-Portrait (1900)
• 1st visit was a failure.
• 2nd visit almost dies.
• 3rd visit was a failure.
• 4th visit some success.
Persistent with Blue Period
The Blue Period did not initially sell. 20 years later, they fetch the most money at auction of all of Picasso’s periods.
Persistent in Business • Sold art in Germany
and Russia in 1910s.
• Sold directly to Leo and Gertrude Stein.
• Did not exhibit in Paris.
Picasso’s D. H. Kahnweiler Germany Russia
Gertrude Stein Markets for Him
Picasso’s art was shown more at Gertrude Stein’s apartment than the art salons of Paris. Picasso had no exhibits in Paris until the 1930s.
Persistent Over Time: Longevity • Traditional (in school)
• Blue Period
• Rose Period
• African-Influenced
• Cubism
• Neo-Classical
• Surrealism
Longevity: Emptying and Filling Up
“Picasso empties himself and he fills up again, so quickly. Then, he starts to empty himself, again.”
Persistence Points of Picasso 1. Your creative process
beats creative blocks. 2. Develop a schedule
and good work habits. 3. See your setbacks as
learning experiences. 4. Master new disciplines
to solve problems. 5. Empty yourself, fill up
with new challenges. 6. Do not have the fear to
begin, again.
Partnerships
Of all the 5 P’s of productivity, Partnerships is the most important. Partnerships are what you need to solve WICKED problems.
Picasso’s different partnerships were critical to his productivity.
Picasso’s Levels of Partnerships • Family
• Mentors
• Tertulia, or Network
• Rivals
• Collaborators
Childhood Family Support Critical • Uncle Salvador pays his
tuition at art school.
• Mother constantly writes him while he is in Paris.
Early Mentor: Father (Jose Ruiz)
Source: O’Brien, Patrick. (1994) Picasso: A Biography
• Taught him brush technique.
• Stretched Picasso’s canvases.
“Every time I draw a man, I instantly think of my father.”
Later Mentor: Max Jacobs • Poet who taught Picasso
how to speak French.
• For a short time, they shared an apartment.
Later Mentor: Guillaume Apollinaire • Both loved poetry, African art, & detective novels.
• First critic to positively review Cubism.
• Coined the term “Surrealism” to describe Picasso’s stage designs for a ballet called “Parade”.
Drew Inspiration from His Tertulia
Gertrude Stein
• Gertrude Stein (Writer)
• Isadora Duncan (Dancer)
• Leo Stein (Journalist)
• Max Jacobs (Poet)
• Ernest Hemingway (Writer)
• Fernande Olivier (Model)
• Joan Miró (Sculptor, Painter)
• Dora Marr (Photographer)
• John Richardson (Biographer)
Historic Rivalry with Matisse “No one has ever looked at Matisse’s paintings
more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than Matisse.”
Matisse (self-portrait) Picasso (self-portrait)
Their Friends Loved This Rivalry
Gertrude Stein Leo Stein Henri Rosseau
• Their friends encouraged the rivalry.
• Gertrude loved Picasso, Leo loved Matisse.
Friends Could Be Childish
Matisse’s Portrait Apollinaire Max Jacobs
• Matisse gave Picasso a portrait of his daughter.
• Picasso’s friend threw felt darts at the painting.
This is Matisse’s Joy of Life, which is a colorful pastoral painting. It is set in a meadow where groups of people dance, sing, talk, and make love. Picasso loathed everything about it—the colors, the nudity, the shapes, the setting, and everything. It was too artificial. The viewer is seeing things from far away.
Matisse’s The Joy of Life
One year later, Picasso produces the Young Ladies of Avignon. This painting is a complete rejection of Matisse’s Joy of Life. Instead of a pastoral setting, it is set in a brothel. The viewer is not passively looking into a meadow; the viewer must actively choose between five different prostitutes in several poses. And, some of the figures wear African masks. This painting appears in more art books than any other piece of art in the 20th century. It is an early form of Cubism. And, it is a complete rejection of Matisse.
Picasso Responds To Matisse’s Work
It is a similar subject (the joy of life), but they have completely different contexts. Picasso steals Matisse’s subject. Great artists steal.
Similar Subjects, Different Contexts
Matisse’s Joy of Life (1905)
Picasso’s Young Ladies of Avignon (1906)
At Times, Very Competitive Rivalry • June 16, 1931:
Matisse retrospective is largest in Paris ever.
• June 16, 1932: A year later, Picasso shows in the same salon: - 225 paintings - 7 statues - 6 illustrated books
Picasso Greatly Respected Matisse
At a group luncheon, Matisse excuses himself. Picasso says, “He must be resting on the crown of his laurels.”
When the other guests insult Matisse, Picasso is furious. He says, “I refuse to let you insult Matisse. He is our greatest painter.” You should always respect your rival.
Only Picasso Could Insult Matisse
When the other guests insult Matisse, Picasso is furious. He says: “I refuse to let you insult Matisse. He is our greatest painter.”
Cubist Collaborator: Georges Braque “ The things that Picasso and I
said to one another during those years will never be said again, and even if they were, no one would understand them anymore. It was like being roped together on a mountain.”
—Georges Braque
Source: Berger, John. 1972. The Look of Things: Selected Essays and Articles.
Analytic Cubism (1909-12) Simple, geometric shapes
are arranged on a canvas to represent an object or a person.
On the right, a guitar is broken into geometric shapes and rearranged.
Synthetic Cubism (1912-14) Picasso introduces a
collage method, where objects are placed on the canvas to interact with painted elements.
Wallpaper, newspaper, and sheet music are on this canvas of a guitar.
Cubism was a deep collaboration. Picasso suppressed his ego. 1. Picasso did not keep journals, which was
unusual for him. 2. They do not sign their names to their art.
No Journals, No Signatures
They Met Daily for 7 Years
World War I Ends The Collaboration
Picasso Marries, Braque Injured
Partnership Points of Picasso 1. Partnerships affect
your productivity. 2. Your family sets you
up for success. 3. Mentors educate and
advise you. 4. Your network will
inspire you. 5. Rivals push you in
different ways. 6. Collaborators expand
your boundaries.
Picasso’s Guernica (1937)
Case Study of 5P’s of Productivity
Picasso became a master designer by going through the 5P’s of Productivity.
1937 World’s Fair
1937 World’s Fair to be held in Paris. The government of Spain commissions Picasso to paint a large mural.
Revisiting a Common Theme
Picasso was not satisfied with his progress on a common theme: The Painter and His Model.
It is the Spanish Civil War. On April 26, 1937, in Guernica, Spain, it is Market Day. General Franco is trying to overthrow the Spanish government. Spain is being torn apart.
26 April 1937: Guernica, Spain
Market Day: Up to 10,000 People
Source: Russell Martin, Picasso’s War, 2012.
Five Airstrikes in Three Hours
In his ongoing attempt to overthrow the Spanish government, General Francisco Franco asks Adolf Hitler to bomb Guernica.
Source: Russell Martin, Picasso’s War, 2012.
Hitler’s First Use of a Blitzkrieg
50 aircraft with 120 airmen carrying 1,000s of pounds of bombs. They refueled, making 5 bombing runs. There is no military target.
Source: Russell Martin, Picasso’s War, 2012.
The City is Completely Destroyed
Up to 80% of the town is destroyed, including a church having a wedding. The Bride survives; the Groom does not.
Source: Russell Martin, Picasso’s War, 2012.
More Than 3,000 Casualties
Two days later, reporters see a Priest giving funeral rites over a mass grave.
Source: Russell Martin, Picasso’s War, 2012.
An Ambitious Plan
Picasso learned by going through each of the 5P’s of Productivity.
Picasso produces Guernica using the 5P’s of Productivity.
Passion: Inspired by the Event
An Eerie Omen
Images from the “Dreams and Lies of Franco” are in “Guernica” including the Weeping Woman, Bull, Horse, and a Dead Child.
He Desires To Create a Giant Mural
11' 5" x 25' 6" (or 3.5 m x 7.8 m)
Purpose: An Impossible Deadline • Guernica bombing
on 26 April 1937.
• World’s Fair in Paris on 25 May 1937.
• Picasso has 24 days to complete it.
Sketches Right Away
Must Slant His Canvas
Uses a Ladder to Paint Up High
Art Before Propaganda “The stand of Picasso was quite clear. A work
of art, in order to be really effective in political terms, has to work first of all as a work of art.“
--Tomas Llorens
Political Imagery
Artistic Merit
Proficiency: Mastery of Tools
“I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.”
Elements From His Major Periods
• Blue Period: Uses monochrome colors to created universal images.
• Rose Period: Hidden harlequins show the inhumanity of war.
• Cubist Period: Overlapping images and texture added.
Guernica’s Secret Images
• African-Influenced Period: Conceals masks for a psychological effect.
• Surrealism Period: Some images must be rotated to see them: - Bull - Skull - Arrow Scholars see 6 hidden images.
Neo-Classical: Balancing the Chaos
Removes Raised Fist
In the Spanish Civil War, the Republicans saluted with a raised fist.
Eliminates a Focal Point (Chaotic)
Moves the Bull Closer to Woman
Horse and Bull were originally fighting. Now, the damage is more man-made. Light and shade bring the focus back to the center.
Persistence: The Thinking Process “A painting is never thought
out and decided upon ahead of time. It is subject to changes in thinking while in process.”
45 Sketches Before Painting Anything
• 23 different figures
• 12 on the bull alone
• 6 on whole concept
First Iteration of Guernica
Underlying wireframe shows a soldier with closed fist. The bull is ready to charge and the horse is clearly dead.
Second Iteration of Guernica
Adds grain to the closed fist with the sun in background. It is an outdoor scene with the bull scanning the horizon.
Third Iteration of Guernica
Removes soldiers arm with grain. Uses different shape for sun. You can start to make out the triangle, which balances the chaos.
Fourth Iteration of Guernica
Moves the horse’s head up. Hides other images. The horse is not dead, but in incredible agony. The bull is confused.
Final Design of Guernica
“Sun” is now a light bulb, which is called “bombia” in Spanish. Artificial light reminiscent of a prison. Everyone is trapped.
Partnership of Dora Maar • Finds Picasso a studio.
• Photographs his progress.
• Puts finishing touches on it.
• Only artist to co-create.
• “Weeping Woman” model.
Initially Rejected, Later Revered • Clement Greenberg:
“Guernica is jerky and too compact.” (1937)
• Pablo Picasso: “I stand for Peace against War.” (1953)
• Nelson Rockefeller: “A brilliant, anti-war masterpiece.” (1954)
An Interesting Discussion
Gestapo: “Did you create that?” Picasso: “No, you did!”
You can produce like Picasso. It takes passion, purpose, proficiency, persistence, and partnerships. We do not want you toget away without talking about the unspoken P, which is…..price.
5 P’s of Productivity
Price
We Are Back to This Number
Completed Projects Source: Guinness Book of World Records (2013)
7 Traits of Extreme Workaholics • Neuroticism
• Introvert/Extrovert
• Open to Experience
• Conscientiousness
• Agreeableness
• Narcissism
• Perfectionism
Picasso’s Answer to Perfectionism “There is no such thing
as a bad Picasso.”
Eight Women, Eight Muses
Over 70 Portraits of Jacqueline in 1 Year
Picasso Isolated His Whole Life
After Franco Wins, Exiled from Spain
Shoot at People to Drive Them Away
Accused of Theft by Diego Rivera “I've never believed in God,
but I believe in Picasso.” “Picasso paces around (the Louvre) like a dog in search of game.“
When Diego Rivera accuses Picasso of plagiarism, Pablo calls it … collaboration.
Maynard Dixon’s Portrait of Diego Rivera
To the Mother of Two of His Kids “Women are either
goddesses or doormats.”
She tells Picasso that she is neither one. She takes their children and leaves.
Picasso pays little, if any, child support.
After Publication of “Life with Picasso” • She writes a tell-all book.
• Picasso refuses to see their children: - Claude is 14 - Paloma is 12
• They are turned away at his funeral.
• Claude is the executor of the estate today.
The Paradox of Picasso “It’s not what the artist
does that counts, but what he is.”
You can produce like Picasso but you don’t have to pay the same price. We all go through the 5 P’s of productivity. To what extreme is totally up to you!
Who Do You See in the Mirror?
• What price are you willing to pay?
Picasso’s Girl Before a Mirror
“Finishing is better than starting.”
This has been Produce Like Picasso!