Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914, running February 13 to June 6, 2011, at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, provides a glimpse into the master’s technique during one of his lesser-known periods. Made during his “synthetic cubism” phase, the works seem almost tossed-off, in the best possible sense. Jigsaw constructions combine different materials with a facility that had little historical precedent. Scraps of wallpaper, newspaper clippings, and dollops of spackle and grit all share equal importance in a series that straddles the line between painting and sculpture. Picasso playfully and effortlessly casts aside conventions of depth, spatiality, and perspective. The guitar constructions that form the heart of the show are celebrations of the ephemeral. Not exhibited officially until the 1960s, their form is a fluid and erratic enterprise. Upon seeing them for the first time, Wyndham Lewis remarked that they “seem not to possess the physical stamina to survive,” but the permanence of Picasso is of a different sort. His work, no matter the form, consistently offers visual lessons that once learned, stay fixed in our mind.

Critical Mob