This project is meant to give the reader a snapshot of Pablo Picasso’s artistic periods. Utilizing TimelineJS allows the user to visually understand where Picasso’s periods fell within the span of his lifetime. Additionally, by using straight forward playful headings, I hope to engage the user that may feel overwhelmed by the breadth of Picasso’s work.
When creating this project, it was difficult for me to chose a theme. I wanted to choose something that would keep my attention and that I wanted to know more about. If someone were to ask me who my favorite artists were, I don’t think Picasso would be on my list. However, I am constantly intrigued by the artist as I can remember three key exhibits I have been to over the past ten years that still stick out in my memory.
Picasso and Marie Therese – the Gagosian Gallery, NYC
Picasso Black and White – Solomon R. Guggenheim, NYC
Uncovering Surrealism – Hayward Gallery, London
Thus, I began this project by looking up Picasso’s major periods, specifically found here. Timeline JS uses Google Sheets to compile data. Using Google Sheets is great because this makes the software easily accessible. Google Sheets also allows the designer to create flawless clean and clear timelines, while keeping data very organized. After some time researching, I began adding in headlines for Picasso’s periods, then text to support the headline and finally an image. The spread sheet requires dates for all new slides in the timeline, but what I found most useful was that I could put a range in along with a specific year. Picasso’s periods spanned multiple year and sometimes decades, and this was illustrated nicely along the bottom of my slide images.
I think Picasso is a fascinating artist and there is so much depth to his life and work. If I could rework this timeline I think I would add more slides of Picasso’s works specifically to the “Classicism and Surrealist” as well as the “Later Works” as those periods spanned greater years than the others periods that came before. Additionally, it would be interesting to create other timelines about Picasso’s life as it compares to his work, because as I stated in the Rose Period, it is difficult to talk about Picasso without mentioning his personal relationships.