Picasso and the Importance of Messy Art

"The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?" (Pablo Picasso)

I never understood Picasso until I visited his home museum in Barcelona. I saw that he was an accomplished painter by the age of 13, that he was matching the talent of his peers by 16, and that by 19 he was so good as an artist that he quickly became bored with painting things how they appeared.

And it began to make sense why he started delving into cubism and more abstract art.

The above quote also helps me understand some of the angst he felt against the illusion that the world is safe and sound and that good art should somehow resolve in perfect symmetry and harmony. It helps me understand why jazz music (and blues, for that matter) emerged from the hearts of marginalized black men and why the recluse Emily Dickinson could write about love so well.

We love art that is real.

I just saw a trailer for a new Christian film that made my stomach churn. The acting looks terrible, the production budget was obviously low, and the story seems predictable. Contrast that with the heart-wrenching, realistic account of The Constant Gardener, a movie about the plight of AIDS in Africa that I watched last night. It's still haunting me.

Think about some of your favorite movies. What do they all have in common?

A few of mine are Braveheart, Blood Diamond, Last of the Mohicans, and Star Wars. Some end happily, while others leave you contemplating the injustices of the world. But all involve a heroic sacrifice. Nobody wants the "good guy" to be defeated, but it happens. In this world, heroes sometimes die.

William Wallace willingly marches to his death for the sake of freedom. Danny Archer puts his life on the line for a friend. Uncas dies to protect the woman he loves. Obi-Wan Kenobi lets Darth Vader strike him down so that his spirit will guide his young apprentice.

What is it about your favorite stories that captivate you? For one, they're real. They're believable. Not in the sense that every element of the story could happen, but rather that it would. Meaning that if there were a galaxy "far, far away" that the struggle for good and evil would be difficult and messy. Unlikely rogues like Han Solo would emerge as heroes and later be betrayed by a friend.

Second, all great stories use tragedy as a catalyst. I think that we overlook how much this truth is ingrained into the fabric of the universe. That's not to say that good needs evil in order to exist, but rather that the eternal story consists of at least three elements: order, tragedy and restoration. When we see hints of this in our favorite movies and books, something within us cries out, "Yes..."

When I watch a movie or read a book that lacks some good conflict and tragedy, it seems disingenuous to me. I don't buy it. My life is full of battle scrapes and scars, wounds that are still healing. If I can't look to art to help me make sense of the world, where can I look?

We need more art that doesn't "make sense," and we need to be more honest with our own stories. We Christians are notorious for over-glamorizing our testimonies, thinking that God somehow needs us to add glitz and glamor to the story he is writing.

What I'm learning to appreciate about Picasso's art is that it intentionally, in some cases, doesn't resolve. Similarly, certain films leave us stuck in tragedy, longing for redemption, and these may be the truest movies we watch, because they reflect our own lives and where we are right now in the eternal story -- groaning with Creation for the ultimate restoration.

What do you think: Are tragic stories more believable? How does Picasso's quote speak to you?

*Painting of "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso.