Paschke A Play

“I am sure there are patrons who might personally prefer one of my paintings instead of a Picasso on their wall, and I am not referring to monetary value. I think there are people who like my work as much as anyone else’s, but as an artist, I know they are wrong. Believe me I am not close to Picasso, and I never will be. He is a giant and I am a midget.” That is a quote from Ed Paschke in the play, “Paschke”. His career basically spanned from the late 1960’s until the time of his death in 2004. He did hundreds of paintings. All are instantly recognizable as Paschke paintings. He had his own style. He painted characters with powerful colors and in distorted poses and representations. Sometimes threatening. Always memorable. He is often considered the greatest painter to come out of Chicago. His work has been displayed in most of the major galleries and art museums in the world. He was Educated at the Art Institute and worked his way up as one of the 20th century’s art luminaries. This play also features his wife, Nancy, who was stricken with Parkinson’s at age 32 and also some of his friends in the art world. Like most artists, Ed had a lot of self-doubt as to the quality of his work, even after he became popular and his works brought high prices. It is hard to convince an artist that his work is as good as it can be. Artists are their own best and worst critics. Like Ed said, “The artist himself is the only one qualified to judge his own work.” It is difficult to summarize a person’s life in an hour. Here are some small segments from different periods of his life. There is quite a bit of his own art introspection and other personal fantasies. This play is not meant to be an authoritative biography. It is an interpretation. A presentation of bits and pieces of the artist’s life.