The Plays
Picasso's Masterpiece [sample]
by Charles L. Mee
[Another friend of Picasso's enters.]
THE FRIEND
I see this
and I think
you ought to quit.
What are you doing?
PICASSO
If you know exactly what you are going to do,
what is the point of doing it?
THE FRIEND
You know I don't mean to say anything
that will cause you any sort of disagreeable feeling
and this is only my advice
but I think you should roll up the canvas and throw it away.
This is bad.
This is a mistake.
[Picasso looks at him for a moment
and then speaks.]
PICASSO
I don't know what other people like
but I know what I love
when I walk out of the Louvre
I don't need to turn to my friend and say
did I like the Mona Lisa
what did I like about her?
Did I like her hair?
Did I think her nose was disagreeable?
what did I like?
No, I know what I like.
I know what I love
And so I do what I love
and since I am the world's leading expert in what I love
I can't be wrong.
And then, because I am not from Mars,
there will be two or three other people who will love it, too.
[Then Picasso turns and resumes painting.
