Pablo :: Image – Time Life Pictures-Getty Images
Above Montana Avenue
Pablo draws a bull in mid-air with a flashlight like he’s a matador. I only knew a little about him and his work as a painter and a sculptor before I went to college. I was aware of only his most famous pieces, like Guernica and The Old Guitarist — paintings everyone was familiar with. Then I took art history courses which provided context and dug much deeper and around that same time I came across this photo.
When I saw it my view of him changed and my view of art changed even more. That discovery, along with other stuff I was exposed to, studying, trying, and connecting to pushed me to trust my own instincts in my work. I was painting, photographing, drawing, dabbleing in video and performance art with friends, and was introduced to modern and postmodern typography and graphic design. Everything seemed to be blown wide open and happening at once.
Then one night, I was sitting on the back doorstep of my friend’s house on Montana Avenue smoking cigarettes. It was clear, moonless, and music filled the house for hours and drifted into the air outside where I was fueled by mushrooms and beer. Everything was tingling, electric, connected, and I was smiling and felt part of it. I could hear night critters foraging through the leaves and nearby winter hedge. Frequent falling stars and slow-moving satellites passed overhead. All the signals and all of the positive voices began to merge. Everything was vibrating and now even magic was a factor.
For Pablo
Songs :: Good Times Roll by The Cars, Wild West End by Dire Straits, Peace of Mind and Ride My Llama by Neil Young, and Have You Seen the Stars Tonite by Jefferson Starship and Paul Kanter
© C. Davidson