Analysis Of The Untitled Picasso At Daley Plaza

The untitled Picasso at Daley Plaza is the iconic symbol of Chicago to the rest of the world, but Pablo Picasso himself never visited Chicago. While Picasso seemed pleased to gift Chicago with artwork as he was also doing a piece for another “gangster city,” Marseille, France, all else is shrouded in mystery. Any analysis needs to consider that there can be no definitive conclusions; only suppositions about the true meaning of this work. The “abstract form” of the untitled Picasso will always provoke more questions than answers since Picasso left the concept and his motivations unclear, possibly to keep viewers intrigued. The important visual elements of the Picasso are the curved lines and diagonal angles of the sculpture; the straight
horizontal and vertical lines of the Daily Building, which serve as a backdrop and the other surrounding buildings; the dark Cor-Tex metal of both the sculpture and the Daley building, which visually binds them together, and the quality of the light as it reflects off of the white concrete of the Plaza. Picasso seems to have considered and combined all the visual elements in and around the Daley Plaza into a living work of art. The concrete Plaza serves as the canvas, and matching low concrete benches invite one to sit. The surrounding tall buildings are the frame for the sculpture. The Daley building anchors the piece as they are made of the same material, but diametrically opposed: the sculpture is all curves and the building is all soaring straight lines, grid-like. Light suddenly peaks over the tall buildings into the cube that is the Plaza. Slowly, the line separating light and dark crosses the space and suddenly, for a short period of time, the whole area is bathed in sun light and the sculpture takes on a dark glow. The light seems to add weight and volume, filling up the Plaza. To be there at that moment is like being inside the artwork. It is more than just the sculpture; the setting is part of the piece. Maybe Picasso saw this as drawing the uncultured masses of 1960’s Chicago into the world of art, quite literally. The elements that appear in this work are as follows. Line: the building is a towering industrial structure made of grid-like lines that could be seen as “male” and the sculpture, made of matching Cor-Tex steel, is proportionately large and opposing: all curved lines and diagonal angles, and could be considered “female.” Light and value: the area is a three-dimensional cube that receives a controlled amount of natural light each day due to the surrounding “frame” of buildings. The plaza itself is a square city block of light-reflecting cement. It can feel cold even in summer until that small portion of the day when it is filled with sunlight. Color: the entire piece is a study in black and white or dark and light. However, it is an ever-changing piece and color is added daily by whoever or whatever is also in the Plaza, which is probably the requirement for the elements of chance, improvisation and spontaneity, as well. Shape and volume: “"It looks like the wings of justice," Daley is reported to have told aides” (Lanier). The abstract figure suggests the possibility of a “bust” in metal with shoulders and long neck rising from the concrete or possibly an Afghan hound laying down but still at attention. It can also be likened to the Egyptian Sphinx in shape, and the head dress of the Sphinx is similar to the metal sides of the Picasso that are attached to the spindly “neck” by diagonal metal rods that could denote motion or be the idea of hair pulled up to form a pony tail. Any way it is viewed, the form conveys strength and pride, somehow, in its lines, its “eye,” in the set of its regal “nose.” Every-thing surrounding the sculpture is dark or light and straight lines form cubes, squares and rectangles. Texture and pattern: Picasso formed the sculpture in Italy and then had it build in the same metal as the Daley Building and of a proportionate size by U.S Steel in Gary Indiana. The pattern is symmetrical, as is the pattern of the Plaza and everything in it. The Picasso is even anchored front and center, facing out with the Daley building at its back. Space: the space inside the plaza seems to connect the elements into a whole. Time and motion: as the earth rotates and the day moves on, the heavy shadows and bright sunlight change the composition of the piece. The elements that are dominant are the dark metal of the sculpture and the building against the lightness of every other element. Somehow both evoke the emotions or sense of pride, strength and industry, and wouldn’t be nearly as compelling if they were separated. The sculpture seems essentially female, made of the same medium as the building but curved and the diagonal lines invoke a feeling of movement, even if it might be just a slight turn of the head. The elements of the art piece and all the surrounding elements work together to form an ever changing composition that takes into effect time of day as well as seasonal changes. The principles of composition employed are balance, in the symmetrical unity of the piece and of all the components; and contrast, in the shadows and the natural light that reflect off the Plaza; movement, in the upsweep of the angles that diagonally draw the eye up and back in the sculpture and also the movement of the light against the dark through the Plaza each day.
Emphasis does not seem to be a major element; one is drawn to the sculpture and finds new and interesting facets in its complexity. Pattern could be that everything drawn into the composition is symmetrical and all that surrounds the sculpture is straight lined and squared off, like a foil for her beauty. The sculpture is proportionate to the elements that surround it and that imbues a sense of unity and harmony over the whole composition of space and area that work well together and is pleasing to the eye. The media of metal against concrete enhances the overall effect of strength, industry and pride. The Picasso is like an old friend. Taken separately, its parts are plain, even ugly, but her overall effect is stunning and she surprises the viewer again and again. She grows on one and becomes beautiful over time. Coming up out of the dark of the el and into the light of the plaza, she is a beacon that welcomes us home to Chicago, whether we are living in the suburbs or coming in from an airport. She never fails to
impress. The Picasso will always be shrouded in mystery. At some angles one sees the Afghan hound that might be Picasso’s inspiration in the sculpture; others present the shoulder of a woman that seems to shrug, which may represent the girl with the ponytail. Still, other viewers see something else. Whatever one sees when one looks at the Picasso, the judgment is never wrong. It is just one more facet to the piece that Pablo Picasso designed to keep us guessing, and lure us into that other dimension, that cerebral place where all true art resides.