Author Archives: a.malik5

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish artist who made many forms of art including painting, sculpting, poetry and playwriting. He spent most of his life in France and is regarded as a founder of the cubist movement and constructed sculpture.

The work I selected is called “Au Lapin Agile” which according to the MET is a painting of Picasso, a lover named Garmaine Pichot and Frede Gerard, who commissioned the painting, in a cabaret. The work was made in 1905 and stayed in Paris till 1912 when it was sold to a German collector. In the painting Picasso paints himself as a Harlequin.

The characters in the painting have a cartoon like quality to them. As supposed to drawing a portrait, where the people look as close to real life as possible. We see that certain features of the characters are very sharp such as their faces or when the clothes they wear. Others are muted and almost distorted such as their hands. As we spoke in class it’s like the artist the reminding us that this is a painting, an interpretation of that moment in time not a replacement for the real thing.

I encountered this painting around works that were more “life like”. Portraits of people and nature, a huge painting of a man with many horses really stood out as did another with a depicting a beautiful scene in nature. It was kind of odd to see this painting where it was and that is what partially drew me to it. I’m usually not a fan of modern art as I don’t really understand what the artist is trying to convey but I like this painting. The use of different colors for light in the room, the characters painted not life like gave me a sense of relief. Never have I felt that emotion looking at a painting before. I could imagine this being a scene in an animated movie or comic with its vibrant colors and almost expected the characters to start moving. Lastly, I can relate to the scene itself, a simple act of being with a friend or lover going to listen to music. It makes me think of how human beings from all times are connected through these simple circumstances of life.

I do have a few questions about the work. Why did Picasso paint himself as a Harlequin? Why are the hands of the characters distorted and why is the musician in the back glowing? Also, why did Picasso choose this as the setting?

Hello everyone my name is Arun and I am forty years old. I came to the US when I was eight, I was born in Kuwait, and have lived in New York City the majority of that time. I am from India and have family in New Delhi. I try to visit every two years or so and last time I went and saw a few of the famous sites in the north. The Taj Mahal is breathtaking and its hard to imagine how it was built in its time. Ajanta and Alora caves, both built by Buddhist monks are also amazing and I encourage people to visit these locations at least once in their lives. I myself wish to see the Great Pyramids someday and it’s on my “bucket” list.

After graduating high school I attended Columbia University for a year and decided that college was not for me. I was working at a restaurant at the time and loved the hospitality business. I’ve done almost all of the “front of the house” positions and worked my way up to becoming a general manager. Working in both casual restaurant as well as fine dining establishments has taught me an appreciation for the dining experience. After all, we eat meals everyday in our lives so what can a restaurant do to make it something to remember. However, after twenty three years I’ve decided its time for a change and am pursuing a degree in Statistics and Qualitative Modeling. This is my first semester at Baruch, though I have enough credits to be considered a sophomore.

A few fun facts about me, I love food, both eating and cooking, and will try anything once. My favorite sport is boxing and am also a fan of both basketball and football. Two years ago I trained to participate in a boxing tournament but unfortunately my opponent backed out at the last minute. I still practice here and there and will be getting myself back into shape this year. I’m a kid t heart and still like watching cartoons like Naruto and reading manga.