Assemblage Art

Early on Picasso turned away from the traditional art of modeling favoring the idea of assemblage and construction. This is evident in his famous work Guitar, a three-dimensional object made out of strings, cardboard, and paper. Showcasing his interest for space and found materials, Picasso’s approach is seen as influential for the understanding of the history of junk art, and the combines of the famous American painter Robert Rauschenberg. In a similar way that Picasso approached the incorporation of everyday objects in his collages, his sculpture showcases the rule that anything goes and can be used and the breaking from the traditional materials and definition of the medium. The transformation of the everyday into art is of course at the base of the understanding of the Duchamp’s readymades yet in Picasso’s production we witness a greater respect for the resources, the found objects, and the playful game of associations. This is evident in the famous work Bull’s Head, where Picasso employed the bicycle seat and handles to form the piece. With the exception of cast bronze, that he seemed not to care so much for, Picasso didn’t find a material he could not control or use.