Picasso vs. Van Gogh
I had the opportunity to visit an exhibition on Picasso: Birth of a Genius in 2019. Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881-1973) is probably the most important figure in 20th century art. The exhibition retraced the journey of an extraordinary man whose long art career spanned between the classical and modern worlds. The exhibition illustrated how the young prodigy wowed everyone with his creative 'Science and Charity' at a young age of sixteen by winning national acclaim at Madrid's Fine Arts Exhibition.
However, his focus on classical artistic expression was a very short-lived stint studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. He subsequently not only succeeded in assimilating the lessons of ancient art and absorbing the newest expressions of his contemporaries, but also managed to develop new approaches which fundamentally changed the trajectory of the development of modern arts. Picasso was an avid innovator and much of what characterized his work was his own, entirely original style. Picasso was at the forefront of developing the new artistic style of Cubism between 1907 and 1908, a form which he refined continuously, but which remained prominent in his work throughout his life.
With a career that spanned almost eight decades and included success in painting, sculpting, ceramics, poetry, stage design, and writing, his tendency to experiment with his craft is unsurprising. However, the extent to which his style changed in each discipline—particularly, in painting—is unlike that of any other artist. What’s truly remarkable is that he never stopped reinventing himself throughout his life. Here are some quotes which reflect his life philosophy:
Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself and to copy oneself is more dangerous than copy others. It lead to sterility.
I am always doing which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
At the root of it, I am perhaps a painter without style. Style is often something that locks the painter into the same vision, the same technique, the same formula for years and years, sometimes for a whole life ... I myself stir too much, move too much. You see me here, and yet I have already changed, I am already somewhere else. I am never fixed, and that’s why I have no style.
Action is the foundational key to all success.
In today’s fast-moving world, there are a lot for us to learn from Picasso and to take his inspiration in that we need to be willing to try new ideas and adapt as technology changes the way we interact with the world. Keeping pace in a turbo-charged world not only means we need to continue to learn, but also often have to ignore the rules of the games, and sometimes going against the stream.
As a stark contrast, Vincent van Gogh had a very different life. I had a chance to visit the Atlanta Van Gogh Immersive Experience on Labor Day last year and it is quite an awe-inspiring adventure to explore his work enabled by modern digital technology. The paintings come to life in an unimaginable way, leaving one in awe and wonder.
The exhibition illustrated not only Van Gogh’s life but also the places that inspired some of his most iconic paintings, including Cafe Terrace At Night and Starry Night, as well as experience how he painted some of the most iconic paintings including the Sunflowers, the Vase with Flowers. In this part of the exhibition, you will have a chance to walk into the Starry Night Over The Rhone River as Van Gogh had imagined, to watch the Vase in a dozens different flower arrangements that Van Gogh must have experimented, to stand in his Arles bedroom as how Van Gogh had visualized in different settings, or to watch the sunflower fields as Van Gogh has experienced. In addition, you will also see the 3-D recreation of his Courtesan as how Van Gogh might have imagined the Japanese ukiyo-e (after Japanese Painter Kaisei Eisen). Finally, you would also learn the details of the discovery in 2020 by a French researcher of the actual tree roots that one of Van Gogh’s final paintings “Tree Roots” was based on two days before he died by a self inflicted gun shot on July 29, 1890.
Van Gogh is one of the most influential artists of all time, yet he struggled in obscurity during his whole life and was never famous as a painter during his lifetime. He sold only one painting while he was alive: The Red Vineyard which went for 400 francs seven months before his death. Before he became an artist, Vincent Van Gogh also chased many vocations in vain in his youth, first as an art dealer in London, then worked briefly as a schoolteacher in England before being at a bookstore back in the Netherlands. He pursued a career in Christian ministry without success. Common theme in van Gogh’s life persisted: failure after failure, disappointment after disappointment. Vincent van Gogh, as an artist, never knew during his lifetime of the fame and fortune that would result from his greatness in art.
While we admire the enduring legacy Van Gogh left behind for us to enjoy 130 years later and likely generations to come, his life story also makes me wonder what career success really means. For some, failure doesn't mean you are a failure it just means you haven't succeeded yet. For others, it is not what you achieve, but it is what you overcome that will define your career. Though he did not know during his life time, Vincent van Gogh was both, yet much much more. The tragic is that the world did not appreciate his greatness in art before his suicide after years of depression and poverty. Life often unfolds in mysterious and miraculous ways, we just need to embrace it as it comes along.
Leadership means different things to different people. Many view it as a necessary step to enable their career success. However, career success means very different things for different people. As a result, the required leadership characters are also very different. Fundamentally one needs to know why you are interested in leadership and what is the purpose of leadership or why do you want to be a leader. Do you want to be a leader as an enabler for you to pursue what you want to pursue or do you just want to be a leader because that is the way for career success? Do you want to be a leader so that you can have more impact on the mission? Would being a leader make you happy and enjoy life more? At some point in our lives, we find out why we are here. I believe that we all have a function, a purpose, a job to do in this life. Some crystallize their purposes and values early through their upbringing, others have to struggle through a life long discovery journey.
