A few days before the calendar changes to reflect a new year, my wife and I sit down to create a list of things we would like to improve, accomplish, etc. Calling them "resolutions" makes it much to formal and usually attaches personal guilt if they do not happen over the course of the next 12 months. Going into 2006, I made is a goal to increase my exposure to art - to visit more museums. Of all the items  I have ever listed, this has been my most enjoyable. The resolution started out with a visit to the Vancouver Art Galley and an exhibit titled "Protean Picasso: Drawings and Prints from the National Gallery of Canada". This was my first real (large scale) exposure to Picasso. It was a great show and lit a fire that now has me visiting modern art museums any chance I get. In addition, I have become a quick fan of Picasso's work.

I was very excited to see that several professors from Texas A&M University have collaborated together to create the On-line Picasso Project which has published a comprehensive illustrated catalogue of Picasso's work. 13,147 individual pieces of art from 633 collections. It is an incredible portfolio of work when looked at over the span of a life time. All the work is indexed by year (1881 - 1973) and is accompanied by detailed biographical data, as well as, complete summaries of the featured art work. You could literally spend hours/days on this site. The amount of work completed is mind-boggling. Having the ability to view works displayed in chronological order only helps to emphasize the importance of Picasso's contributions to the art world.

Next month, as part of my ongoing effort to view more art, I have plans to visit the MOMA in New York to view the Richard Serra - 40 year Retrospective exhibit. I am really looking forward to this opportunity. 

[via: Guardian Unlimited: Art blog]