Ruth Drawing Picasso
In the video piece , a uniformed schoolgirl sits on the floor of the Tate Museum in Liverpool, quietly drawing the work in front of her: Picasso's (1937). As viewers, we do not see the painting, only the girl lost in concentration, drawing what she observes. Filmed using a static, single camera angle, it resembles a photographic portrait, encouraging us to observe the pose and gestures of the young girl very closely. As we witness Ruth intensely absorbing Picasso's painting, we become aware of her increasing engagement in the act of looking - not only in order to "get it right" as she attempts to sketch the image, but taking what she sees and making it her own. Dijkstra's film involves us in a dialogue about the act of observation as well as artistic inspiration and creativity.