2020 out of the Blue and into the Rose - the year through Picasso's lens
The Transatlantic Post | Love Letter N°30
Welcome to The Transatlantic Post an editorial on innovation & entrepreneurship. With occasional British satire. By Kajal
When I wrote to you this time last year, a line in the opening paragraph read “We will need the best of human ingenuity to solve seemingly impossible challenges” and I could not have imagined the scale of the challenges in 2020.
As I read about Picasso’s life for this edition of the Post and looked back on an extraordinary year, I found refuge in his paintings that colourfully evolved from melancholy greys to cheerful pinks. I take a hopeful journey beyond 2020 and what we can learn from his life as we navigate and stumble through this together.
Picasso’s Blue Period…
Pablo Picasso’s art mirrored his life shifting between despair and hope, poverty and riches. His transition from the blue to rose period from 1901 to 1907 was a pivotal and central phase in his career. His blue period was triggered by the suicide of his friend Carles Casagemas where he fell into severe depression "I started painting in blue when I learned of Casagemas's death". Paintings in the blue period were monochromatic in cold colours: melancholy blues, dusky greys often depicting themes of loneliness or poverty.
From 1904 as his mental health improved, he shifted to creating works dominated by orange and pink hues with more cheerful characters of clowns, harlequins and carnival performers. In his artistic life, it was defined as the Rose Period where his work was based largely on intuition rather than direct observation. From struggling to sell anything in the Blue Period he emerged to create his third highest selling piece Garçon à la pipe by 1906.
Out of the Blue and into the Rose?
Can we start looking ahead to our own Rose Period? Bill Gates seems to think so. “By the spring of 2021, we should be driving the numbers down and able to see that, as tragic as this was, it won’t last forever.” While confident predictions are something of an oxymoron, all pandemics do eventually end and we can dare to dream beyond it.
A recently published article Epidemiologist looks to the past to predict second post-pandemic 'roaring 20s' lays out a vision for 2024 and beyond. An era filled with experiences pined for in isolation: packed stadiums, crowded nightclubs and flourishing arts. A comforting thought but how are we supporting ourselves in the transition?
Mental health tech startups have been in sharp focus since the start of the pandemic pulling in £1.6 billion in funding this year. I recently read about Workit Health a digital-first platform to support addiction and recovery that has seen a 200% rise in demand. And others that are gaining momentum at the earlier stages: I Speak Mental Health which is working on improving the accessibility of mental health support through their interactive mental health kit to university students in particular. They are part of the ASPECT accelerator I have been advising on for the past few months where I have seen innovative founders from across several universities.
On the ground, in my own shared Whatsapp groups, whether its those living alone, couples with young kids, young people starting their careers or our parents, everyone has struggled in their own way. The more we can seek help and be supported with accessible services the more likely we are to whether the storm more effectively.
From Rose to our own Cubism .…
Lets indulge our imagination and go a step further. Picasso was not only able to overcome his mental health issues during the Blue and Rose periods of his painting life but they were also to set the foundation for the invention of Cubism.
Cubism revolutionised European painting and sculpture and is considered one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from a single viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context.
In life as in art, 2020 will be seen from a number of viewpoints and in a positive light on its ability to adapt, transform and innovate. Based on what I’ve observed in the last 12 months alone, we are sowing the seeds for our own Cubist revolution.
Vaccine development alone is a good example. It is typically a long and complex process - to put it in context, it took 18 years to develop the first polio vaccine. Today, scientists have developed several COVID vaccines in 11 months marking the most rapid vaccine development for a pandemic in history.
The CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla described it as a miracle. One partly based on their bet on gene based technology as well as demanding leadership pushing the boundaries of ambition. And as the year draws to a close, you can bet on more miracles to come.
I will leave you with a great twitter thread by Shane Parrish on peoples favourite articles of the year there are a few gems one of which I have included below. As always, I welcome hearing your feedback and what you’d like to see more of in 2021, my email is below. I wish you all a safe and happy new year.
“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” Pablo Picasso
Sincerely, yours,
t: @kajalnyclon | w: transatlanticpost.com
Selected Events and Reading
Entrepreneurship and Loneliness (Reid Hoffman - LinkedIn)
With a continued focus on mental health, I am glad that entrepreneurship and loneliness is being talked about more in the public sphere. As much as I have found the journey a rewarding one, I’ve also found it lonely. This piece highlights why and the importance of your support network your friends, family, allies and mentors.
ASPECT Accelerator Demo Day (Hopin)
The past 4 months, I’ve been working with a fabulous team on the Aspect Student Accelerator Programme (ASAP) The upcoming Demo Day is a showcase and celebration of some of the UK's finest social entrepreneurship talent. Attendees will hear pitches from the cohort of 19 socially-focused businesses tackling everything from mental health to sustainable architecture, sign up on the link above.
The Best Inventions of 2020 (Time Magazine)
This list from across industries features an array of inventions from the pioneering to the bizarre and with a potential to change the way we live - an augmented reality guided surgery, a baby crib that creates calm to a sustainable smartphone its worth a scroll through to ignite your imagination.
Get in touch
Email me directly kajal@kajallondon.com, I always welcome hearing from you
Find me on Twitter @kajalnyclon
Read previous articles of the The Transatlantic Post
About the Transatlantic Post
An editorial on innovation and entrepreneurship. With occasional British satire. Written and edited by Kajal Sanghrajka. For previous editions go to the Transatlantic Post website.
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