Discovering unknown aspects is always interesting, especially if it’s controversial.

In October of 2021, a selection of 11 of Pablo Picasso’s works was sold for nearly $110 million in a Las Vegas auction. Coinciding with the artist's 140th birthday, the display resort's collection of MGM mentioned how Saturday’s auction would help it improve the diversity of fine art collection and exhibition. Throughout the exhibition, various aspects beyond the piece itself were revealed. For instance, "Woman in a reddish-orange hat," the ostar attraction of Saturday's auction, was known to portray Picasso's lover and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter.

Just as one of Picasso’s masterpieces was inspired by his affair with Walter, for numerous artists including Picasso, art was a medium through which they could indirectly share intimate details of private life. “I tend to focus on not the visuals of the artwork but more on what the author tried to express through the piece,” said KISJ’s Art and Design department teacher Ms. Dyrek, speaking of her priorities in exhibiting and creating her work.

Not only limited to Ms.D, but numerous artists also aim to understand the artwork based on their background knowledge and interpretation, not just only on the visuals as a trend. Interpreting artwork beyond its visual representation provides an alternative perspective in understanding the artist and his or her intention. As the collection spans over 50 years of Picasso’s effort, this auction was significant in a way that featured not only his artistic style but also what his intention was in creating ‘masterpieces’.

In our world, most of the audience state that his popularity was driven by the unique style he pursued throughout his art career. Ms. Dyrek recalled Picasso as a “changemaker of the game”, noting how “his works differed and exceeded the social norms at that time.”

His effort to utilize indirect expression over the realism that went viral during his time. By abandoning realism, he developed and applied his own style. The courage Picasso took to go against the social norm of artists is praised nowadays as a challenge of worth. Even though his society rejected, the modern world is recognizing the value that his work deserves by also considering his life as an individual.

On the other hand, critics also pointed out that the auction can not fully appreciate the artworks’ value, and indeed Picasso’s auction might be considered “illegal.” In determining the price, Lee-Jeong Yoon, a sophomore art student attending Korean international school Jeju pointed out the problems arising from people who sell and buy pieces for fame and money. She mentioned that “the auction is more focused on earning money rather than preserving the value of the work,” emphasizing how it can “ruin the purpose of the artwork.”

Although most auctions occur under the artist’s consent, since Picasso, previous Vogue journalist Ms.Hwang urged that “auction can not be justified, since the auction without author’s permission can be considered illegal.” As an editor who interviewed numerous foreign celebrities and artists, her perspective was a unique approach that explicitly criticized the flaws of the recent auction.

In either way, it is recognizable that the auction itself is a controversial event to occur, and that the recent Picasso’s auction certainly left an impact on those who questioned whether the auction can be justified or not.

As all artists challenge the status quo, now it’s the public’s time to care about their messages. Just as Picasso did, we have to give off the ideal imaginations and start facing the reality, in order to ‘understand’ what art is.