pablo picasso: cubism—a revolution of spatial presentation...
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Title:Pablo Picasso, Cubism—A Revolution of Spatial Presentation in Artistic Expression (with parrallelsin cartography), CSISS Classics
Author:Crosier, Scott, UC Santa Barbara
Publication Date:2002
Series:CSISS Classics
Permalink:http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3wt7p9m2
Keywords:multiple perspectives, two-dimensional visualization, cartography
Abstract:Cubism, method of portraying multiple dimensions onto a two dimensional canvas, is not unlikethe task of the map maker in representing the earth in two dimensions. Parallels between Cubismand cartography are identified in this essay.
Copyright Information:All rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. Contact the author or original publisher for anynecessary permissions. eScholarship is not the copyright owner for deposited works. Learn moreat http://www.escholarship.org/help_copyright.html#reuse
Pab
lo P
icasso
: C
ub
ism
—A
Revo
luti
on
of
Sp
ati
al
Pre
sen
tati
on
in
Art
isti
cE
xp
ressio
n (
wit
h p
ara
llels
in
cart
og
rap
hy)
By S
co
tt C
rosie
r
Ba
ckg
rou
nd
"My
moth
er
said
to m
e,
'If y
ou
beco
me a
sold
ier
you'
ll be a
gene
ral;
if yo
u beco
me a
monk
you'
ll end
up a
s th
e p
ope.'
Inst
ead,
I beca
me a
pain
ter
and
woun
d u
p a
s P
icass
o."
Pablo
Pic
ass
o
Cub
ism
, th
e a
rtis
tic e
xpre
ssio
n th
at
fore
fath
ere
d a
llabst
ract
art
, w
as
sim
ply
a m
eth
od o
f port
rayi
ngm
ultip
le d
imens
ions
ont
o a
tw
o d
imens
iona
l canv
as.
Thi
s is
not
unlik
e t
he t
ask
of
the m
ap m
ake
r in
repre
sent
ing t
he e
art
h in
tw
o d
imens
ions
.
Many
people
, w
hen
cons
idering
wha
t m
ake
s "a
good p
ain
ting,"
cons
ider
the
abili
ty o
f a p
ain
ting t
o d
epic
t an
act
ual o
r re
alis
tic im
age o
f th
e p
ers
on,
obje
ct o
rlo
catio
n th
at
the a
rtis
t is
pre
sent
ing.
We o
ften
thin
k of
the "
realis
t" a
rtis
ts,
who
,th
roug
h th
eir s
kills
in s
hadin
g,
colo
r us
e,
pers
pect
ive,
and
und
ers
tand
ing,
were
(and
are
) able
to d
raw
or
pain
t a n
early
pic
ture
perf
ect
depic
tion
of
the s
ubje
ct.
We id
ealiz
e t
he a
rtis
t, w
ith h
is o
r he
r pain
ts a
nd p
ale
tte,
work
ing a
t an
ease
l,st
udyi
ng t
he la
ndsc
ape o
r th
eir s
ubje
ct.
The
art
ist
pro
duc
es
a p
ain
ting d
epic
ting
that
obje
ct f
rom
the
ir o
ne p
oin
t of
refe
renc
e.
How
eve
r, a
s w
e in
tera
ct w
ith s
om
eth
ing,
we r
are
ly in
tera
ct u
sing
onl
y one
pers
pect
ive.
For
exa
mple
, as
we a
ppre
ciate
natu
re,
we w
alk
aro
und.
We m
ight
see a
tre
e o
ff in
the
dis
tanc
e,
and
as
we a
ppro
ach
it,
our
pers
pect
ive o
f th
e t
ree
chang
es.
We m
ight
eve
n w
alk
past
the
tre
e,
and
look
back
on
it fr
om
aco
mple
tely
diff
ere
nt v
iew
or
see a
n are
al v
iew
of
the lo
catio
n and
appre
ciate
itfr
om
a d
iffere
nt p
ers
pect
ive.
How
, th
en,
can
an
art
ist
depic
t th
is c
hang
ing
inte
ract
ion
with
the
sub
ject
, w
hile
work
ing o
n a f
lat
pie
ce o
f ca
nvas?
Thi
sque
stio
n is
wha
t sp
urre
d s
eve
ral a
rtis
tic in
nova
tors
to t
he p
ione
er
form
of
all
CS
ISS
Cla
ssic
s -
Pab
lo P
icas
so:
Cub
ism
—A
Rev
olu
tion
of
Sp
atia
l P
rese
ntat
ion
in A
rtis
tic
Exp
r...
1 o
f 4
6/2
0/2
015
11
:59 P
M
Inn
ova
tio
n
abst
ract
art
calle
d C
ubis
m.
Alth
oug
h in
spired b
y th
e la
ter
work
of
Ceza
nne,
the e
ra o
f C
ubis
m(1
907–1920s)
was
first
begun
by
Pablo
Pic
ass
o a
nd G
eorg
es
Bra
que
. T
he
majo
r benc
hmark
of
this
work
was
in P
icass
o's
pain
ting "
Les
Dem
ois
elle
s d'A
vignon,
1907"
(Mus.
of
Modern
Art
, N
ew
York
City
). I
n s
eein
g t
his
pain
ting,
many
mig
ht
ask
am
ong o
ther
thin
gs,
"W
hat
was
Pic
ass
o t
ryin
g t
o d
o?"
The
Cub
ists
(in
clud
ing P
icass
o,
Bra
que
, Je
an M
etz
inger,
Gris,
Duc
ham
p,
and
Léger)
were
att
em
ptin
g t
o d
epic
t th
eir s
ubje
ct m
att
er
not
as
the e
ye,
but
as
the
m
ind s
aw
the
sub
ject
. F
or
exa
mple
, th
e w
om
an in
the
low
er
right
corn
er
of
the
pain
ting h
as
her
back
tow
ard
s th
e a
rtis
t. H
ow
eve
r, w
e k
now
, and
it is
depic
ted
in
the
pain
ting,
that
she h
as
a f
ace
. A
lso,
as
the v
eil
or
curt
ain
dra
pes
aro
und
th
e b
odie
s, w
e s
ee a
boun
dary
betw
een the
wom
en a
nd t
he d
rape,
whi
le in
oth
er
pla
ces
(the
leg o
f th
e w
om
an to t
he le
ft)
the b
oun
dary
is n
ot
so c
lear,
su
ggest
ing t
he f
low
of
the v
eil
in a
nd a
roun
d t
he b
odie
s. T
he t
wo w
om
en in
the
m
iddle
of
the p
ain
ting a
lso h
ave
the
pro
file o
f th
eir n
ose
s pain
ted o
n w
hat
appears
to b
e t
he f
ront
of
their f
ace
. T
his
too,
depic
ts P
icass
o's
att
em
pt
to
port
ray
the f
ront
and
the
sid
e o
f th
e f
ace
in the
sam
e im
age.
Thi
s st
yle w
as
in r
evo
lt to
the
tra
diti
ona
l art
istic
exp
ress
ions
. T
hese
tra
diti
ons
fo
llow
ed m
any
rul
es
or
ele
ment
s th
at
art
ists
were
str
ictly
tie
d t
o.
Thi
s in
clud
ed
th
e u
se o
f pain
t to
acc
urate
ly d
epic
t te
xtur
e a
nd c
olo
r, p
lay
of
light
on a
form
and
sha
pe,
atm
osp
here
, and
the
illu
sions
derive
d b
y fo
llow
ing t
he r
igid
, sc
ient
ific
law
s of
pers
pect
ive.
To b
reak
aw
ay
from
the
se t
raditi
ons
, th
e c
ubis
ts
fragm
ent
ed t
he s
ubje
ct (
usua
lly in
to p
lane
s) a
nd r
eco
nstr
ucte
d it
int
o a
n
inte
rlock
ing p
att
ern
. T
his
is e
vident
and
perh
aps
most
popul
ar
in m
any
of
Pic
ass
o's
port
rait
pain
tings
in w
hich
the
fro
nt o
f th
e f
ace
and
the
pro
file o
f th
e
face
are
inte
rlock
ed,
usua
lly a
long
the
rid
ge o
f th
e n
ose
. T
he c
ubis
t re
volu
tion in
vi
sual a
rtis
tic e
xpre
ssio
n s
pur
red m
uch c
ont
rove
rsy
and
an a
ltern
ativ
e w
ay
of
thoug
ht t
hroug
hout
all
art
istic
exp
ress
ion,
inc
ludin
g p
oetr
y, d
anc
e,
theate
r, a
nd
scul
ptu
re.
Many
perh
aps
jest
at
how
the
pre
sent
atio
n o
f th
e s
ubje
ct m
att
er
is s
o d
isto
rted
by
Pic
ass
o a
nd h
is c
om
rades,
how
eve
r, if
we c
ons
ider
the m
eth
ods
att
em
pte
d
for
cent
urie
s by
cart
ogra
phe
rs,
of
dis
tort
ing t
he s
patia
l pro
pert
ies
of
the e
art
h in
fit
ting a
sphe
re (
the g
lobe)
to a
2-d
imens
iona
l repre
sent
atio
n (
a m
ap),
the
n
these
ideas
are
perh
aps
not
so e
xtre
me o
r diff
icul
t to
acc
ept.
Work
is
als
o b
ein
g
done
to a
llow
a u
ser
to "
navi
gate
" a s
ubje
ct b
y "m
ovi
ng"
in,
out
, and
aro
und in
a
"virtu
al r
ealit
y" t
o b
ett
er
unders
tand
the
sub
ject
. Is
thi
s m
uch d
iffere
nt t
han w
hat
the C
ubis
ts d
id? T
hey
too a
ttem
pte
d t
o h
elp
the
vie
wer
bett
er
unders
tand
by
pre
sent
ing m
any
pers
pect
ives
of
the s
ubje
ct,
rath
er
than p
rese
ntin
g o
ne s
ingul
ar
pers
pect
ive.
CS
ISS
Cla
ssic
s -
Pab
lo P
icas
so:
Cub
ism
—A
Rev
olu
tion
of
Sp
atia
l P
rese
ntat
ion
in A
rtis
tic
Exp
r...
2 o
f 4
6/2
0/2
015
11
:59 P
M
[The
Early
Cub
ists
incl
uded P
icass
o,
Bra
que
, Je
an
Metz
inger,
Gris,
Duc
ham
p,
&Léger]
Rel
ate
d W
ork
sA
polli
naire,
G.,
The C
ubis
t P
ain
ters
. 1913,
tr.
1949.
Cooper,
D.,
The C
ubis
t E
poch
. Lond
on:
Pha
idon
Pre
ss,
1971.
Gold
ing,
J.,
Cubis
m:
A H
isto
ry a
nd a
n A
naly
sis
1907–1914
. Lond
on:
Faber
and
Faber,
1971.
Rose
nblu
m,
R.,
Cubis
m a
nd 2
0th
Centu
ry A
rt.
Lond
on:
Tha
mes
and
Hud
son,
1976.
CS
ISS
Cla
ssic
s -
Pab
lo P
icas
so:
Cub
ism
—A
Rev
olu
tion
of
Sp
atia
l P
rese
ntat
ion
in A
rtis
tic
Exp
r...
3 o
f 4
6/2
0/2
015
11
:59 P
M
Rosk
ill,
M.,
The Inte
rpre
tatio
n o
f C
ubis
m.
Ass
oci
ate
d U
nive
rsity
Pre
sses,
US
A,
1985.
Lin
ksP
ablo
Pic
ass
o:
Le s
ite o
ffic
el (
Englis
h tra
nsl
atio
n a
vaila
ble
)
Co
pyr
ight
© 2
001
-2011
by
Re
ge
nts
of U
nive
rsity
of C
alif
orn
ia, S
ant
a B
arb
ara
,P
age
Aut
hor: S
cott
Cro
sie
r
CS
ISS
Cla
ssic
s -
Pab
lo P
icas
so:
Cub
ism
—A
Rev
olu
tion
of
Sp
atia
l P
rese
ntat
ion
in A
rtis
tic
Exp
r...
4 o
f 4
6/2
0/2
015
11
:59 P
M