“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers” Pablo Picasso
The art and culture world is just like a computer – many forms of communication that creates a web of intricate deception. A world all its own filled with an array of characters ranging from artists, poets, writers, intellects, musicians, dancers, stage and screen, media and surprisingly enough, diplomats from all countries.
It is no wonder why Picasso, a master seducer and lover of women would relish the artistic world, not for the art, but for the sex. If a person craves sexual activity, they enter the art world, because at least it’s safe; secrets are always kept, instead of venturing into the bad section of town where it’s much more dangerous. Secrets are kept close which makes this arena the best opportunity for intelligence gathering. A culture of sleazy back room deals in who will succeed and who will fail. Those with the power to grease the wheel of profit do so with lies and deception. It’s a world filled with art, but is the art real or fake? Two worlds intertwined into one: those who create the art because they love being creative and those who profit from them by selling their souls by becoming a propaganda artist because a patron of the arts waves dollars before their starving eyes.
Picasso started his career much the same way when a patron by the name of Gertrude Stein, a American millionaires offered to take him under her wing in 1905 Having such a wealthy patron doors began to open for the young artist. Stein and her two brothers, Michael and Leo helped his career launch by purchasing many of his early works. Quickly he became a hit among those within Paris and soon he had a following of other artists following him around.
Through his patronage of Gertrude Stein, Picasso was introduced to many important figures; one of them was Serge Diaghiley’s Ballets Russes. As the artist who would create the scenery for the Russian Ballet troop performing in Rome, Picasso’s web of characters would expand, thanks to his marrying Olga Khoklova, a ballerina with the troupe. It was through his involvement with Olga and the cultural world she belonged, he would be introduced to a man by the name of Nicholas Roerich, a Russian artist. After returning to Paris, it was Khokhlova with her social connections that would raise Picasso from just another artist to that of one worthy of being included into high society. Picasso no longer needed the likes of Stein, he now had his own personal patron in Khokhlova who helped him achieve his ultimate fame and fortune, allowing him to enjoy the social niceties in life during the 1920s Paris.
Roerich would later become a world famous artist in his own right, but he was also an ardent supporter of the Soviets in the 30's and WWII. Picasso being a member of the French Communist Party before he arrived in Rome made for an instant friendship between these two men. It is believed that after meeting Roerich, Picasso began his propaganda campaign to help further the cause of the Communist Party.
Picasso became the number one propaganda artist for the Communist Party for the next twenty-five years and his following grew to a network worldwide which made him a key player in the propaganda wars.
The Art and Culture world would be transformed during Picasso’s lifetime into an invisible government filled with creativity, intellectual freedom and cultural power warped by communist ideology wrapped in a nice neat package ready for sale to the willing buyer.
American in the meantime was being accused of being a cultural desert by the Soviets and in 1947, the Department of State began fighting back. An exhibition called, “Advancing American Art” was organized and paid for by the Department of State and went international. This created a stir across the globe. While the Soviets became the patron to many Russian artists, musicians and writers, the American Government countered their effort by becoming patron too.
Realizing the Soviets and the KGB were using art and culture as a tool to further their cause, America counter attacked by creating the Congress of Artistic Freedom. The Congress of Artistic Freedom was a covert unit under the CIA with a budget of approximately $160,000 (3 million by today’s standards), in 1950 as the Cold War begin to escalate. Politically this helped them promote their cause of Anti-Communistic behavior via the visual arts and the written word; it also gave them a golden opportunity to gather intelligence to safeguard America.
Over the next seventeen years, while Picasso continued with his propaganda work, the Congress of Artistic Freedom would open offices in thirty-five countries, while creating and publishing two dozen magazines world wide. The unit would be headed up by a CIA Agent, yet the staff comprised of academic intellectuals from Harvard, Yale and other Ivy League Universities who were known for collecting works of art and writing novels in their spare time, A treasure trove of liberalism became the new culture of the art world with a new breed of writers, poets, artists and musicians.. Abstract Expressionism was created because it didn’t make any sense. Socialistic Realism made Abstract Expressionism appear to be non-conformity which drove them mad.
How did the CIA conduct their patronage of the arts? It was a simple, they would approach a known millionaire and convince them to create a non-profit wherein the CIA would funnel money to them and direct them on what exhibitions, artists and magazines to support. Through their intricate web, the Rockefeller Foundation which was the main patron of the Museum of Modern Art and largest holder of Picasso artwork, the Ford Foundation, and many others did what they could to assist the CIA in their mission. New York City would become the mecca of the art world in the United States. Greenwich Village or SoHo became the liberal hotspot of writers, magazine editors, fashion designers and drugs. On Long Island the Hamptons attracted an international crowd of series art collectors, many with hidden art work never to be seen by the average person, would be come the power broker capitol of art dealing.
In 1967, the Congress for Cultural Freedom was exposed and embarrassed because of its CIA sponsorships connections throughout the previous decade. Although it was successful in ultimately helping to negate the Communism's appeal to artists and intellectuals; undermining the Communist position of moral superiority. It must be said that the untimely halt of this program helped perpetuate the spread of Communism throughout the United States throughout the Vietnam Era and beyond.
Today, the top five cities for dealing in art are NYC, London, Paris, Tokyo, and Singapore. Each of these cities has museums that hold thousands of works of art displayed for public view. Only question is, are these pieces of art truly the original pieces or are they fake? With the cost of maintaining precious artwork coupled with the cost of insurance to safeguard these pieces, one has to wonder if they are the originals. It’s a known fact within the art world that many museums sell off their valuable pieces because they can no longer afford to insure them in their collections. Curators throughout the world are known to quietly sell them to private collectors to ensure their museum can continue to flourish financially. A duplicate copy is created and hung in its place.
While the world views art as beautiful and alluring, why is that Picasso’s art work from 1965 through 1967 still eludes the public? The hunt for Picasso’s Tarnschriften (German for camouflaged art that was used by the Resistance in WWII) is on ladies and gentleman; where are these pieces? I know of one piece, but it’s the final piece in his collection, I’d be interested in seeing what the other pieces have to show of his covert spying network. Why are they hidden from the public? The Picasso family is in search of them and so are Chinese Art Dealers, WHY? In fact, Chinese Art Dealers are buying up his later work faster than they can be put on the market. Is it because Picasso sent these pieces to friends and colleagues, his Cold War Trophy Pieces, to ensure they had the hidden keys to his success for the Communist Party?
Picasso’s intricate web of deception and influence throughout the occult world of Art and Culture was driven by his ego. While he seemed like the mad scientist yearning to find the final formula to his experiment, in the end the occult of socialistic ideology used him for their own deception.
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All info rmation contained within this series will be used in a book entitled “Picasso – The Art of War” all rights reserved and copyrighted to Elizabeth Kilbride. Permission is not granted to anyone for the copying or distribution of this info rmation in print or media without the express permission of the author. This copyright is under both U.S.A and International Copyright Laws.
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