April 10, 2023

It's 50 years since Picasso died, and a lot of people are using the occasion to womansplain what a bad boyfriend/husband he was.

But this "land artist," Dario Gambarin, has had a tractor plow an enlarged version of a Picasso self-portrait into the land in Castagnaro, Verona. 

I will resist womansplaining how this effort at art instantiates toxic masculinity.

21 comments:

jaydub said...

"I will resist womansplaining how this effort at art instantiates toxic masculinity."

The toxic male commentariat applauds your self control.

rhhardin said...

Womansplain explains feelings, mansplain explains systems. One is fleeting, one is permanent.

tim in vermont said...

"Bad boyfriend" means that "All my girlfriends hit on him all the time. He should have known how powerless women were against his charms and used them responsibly, you know, only used them with me, not those other hos."

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Every outstanding artist must have a dark side. The sooner we admit that to ourselves the better. The size and scope of the dark side is probably only matched by the artist greatness. IMHO

Quaestor said...

Finally, a tremendous FUCK YOU! to the aliens who despoil our crops and anal-probe our rednecks. They'll fly over in one of their Bob Lazar souped-up rides, sizing up a virgin patch of triticale, see nasty old Pablo staring up at them, get all intimidated, and fly ten thousand lightyears back to mommy squidoid, sniffing back their liquid methane tears.

Terrestrial graffiti "artists" display similar distress when compelled to erase their creations by law enforcement.

Temujin said...

Men. Where would we be without us?

Michael said...

Good Lord. I am well into my '70's, reasonably well educated and read, and I don't believe I have ever come across the word "instantiate." Maybe it's a lawyer thing.

robother said...

Ricky had no idea what he was unleashing when he kept repeating "Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do!"

Sebastian said...

"a lot of people are using the occasion to womansplain what a bad boyfriend/husband he was."

He had lots of female enablers and codependents. For the women in his life, MeToo was a badge of honor.

BarrySanders20 said...

His land, his tractor, and a remarkably good creative achievement.

GRW3 said...

It is not unusual for artists to not be nice people, or people with whom you would wish to deal.

Michael K said...

Picasso was friends with Gerald and Sara Murphy in the 1920s. He is said to have made a play for Sara which she refused. He then painted out a figure in one of his paintings that depicted her husband.

Jupiter said...

It's strange how many women choose to try to make a good boyfriend/husband out of a bad boyfriend/husband, when there are so many good ones available. It's almost as if -- nah, that can't be. Probably they just got stuck in an elevator with him for a few years, and decided to make the best of a bad situation. That's what is so endearing about women, they never bitch, they never whine, they never piss, they never moan. They just carry on without complaint.

Smilin' Jack said...

I like it! Yay toxic masculinity!

walter said...

Verse 1]
Well some people try to pick up girls
And get called asshole
This never happened to Pablo Picasso
He could walk down your street
And girls could not resist his stare and
So Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole

[Verse 2]
Well the girls would turn the color
Of the avocado when he would drive
Down their street in his El Dorado
He could walk down your street
And girls could not resist his stare
Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole
Not like you
Alright

[Verse 3]
Well he was only five foot three
But girls could not resist his stare
Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole
Not in New York

Mary Beth said...

"Drink to me, drink to my health
You know I can't drink any more."

I am impressed by the tractor art.

rhhardin said...

On Picasso and women, see Karen L Kleinfelder, The Artist, His Model, Her Image, His Gaze: Picasso's Pursuit of the Model.

Google books has it but the bastards omit the drawings being used for commentary, which makes it pretty unintelligible.

Maybe a university library has it.

Nancy Reyes said...

read his biography. when women who are his partners commit suicide, it's more than being a bad boyfriend.
When he was young, he had a torrid affair with a Spanish boy. So one wonders if he was a closeted homosexual who hated women (I am old enough to have treated depressed women who married closeted gay guys who are nice to others but who destroyed naive women who they married...this is the best argument for gay marriage that no one talks about).

walter said...

Nancy,
Other conclusions might be considered.

Bob Boyd said...

Althouse sees the plow and feels sympathy for the field.

I will resist mansplaining how this speaks well of Meade.

Scott M said...

"a lot of people are using the occasion to womansplain what a bad boyfriend/husband he was"

Cute. Now do Marx.