Transcript: Graffiti. Rencontre avec Pablo Picasso, 1966

Find the text from the film Graffiti. Rencontre avec Picassso by Yvan Lemaire below in Irish and English. The film is screening as part of the exhibition Picasso: From The Studio, in the exhibition space. 

Irish text

[Picasso]
Uair amháin nuair a bhí mé in Nice fiafraíodh díom an méid a bhí scríofa ar phíosa beag páipéir a léamh. Tharla sé sin nuair a chuireamar fáilte roimh na mílte agus na mílte daoine óga ar fud an domhain.

An cuimhin leat? Blianta fada ó shin.

Bhí mise ann, i mo sheasamh ar an leacht cuimhneacháin cogaidh ollmhór, agus bhí slua daoine bailithe idir La Boca agus Nice, mar sin, ar an mbóthar.

Ansin, bhí mé ag léamh, ní cuimhin liom go díreach céard a léigh mé de bhrí go raibh sé an-ghearr agus níor scríobh mé féin an méid sin fiú, agus ar deireadh, dúirt mé cúpla focal a chuaigh i bhfeidhm go mór ar dhaoine is cosúil. Níl a fhios agam conas ar éirigh le daoine mé a chloisteáil, de bhrí nach raibh taithí agam ar a bheith ag labhairt isteach i micreafón.

[Agallóir]
Ach bhí an méid a tharla aréir go hiontach. Bhí mé ag breathnú ort i lár an tseomra mhóir seo. Bhí cuma bheag ort, an chuma go raibh tú beagnach caillte i measc an tslua.

[Picasso]
Is ea…go deimhin…

[Agallóir]
Ar chuir an méid a tharla áthas ort?

[Picasso]
Chuir, ach fós féin goilleann an cineál trua, grá nó cairdis, is cuma céard a thugann tú air, seo orm, an chaoi a mhothaíonn an oiread sin daoine fúm.

[Agallóir]
Tá an-chion agat ar an bhfocal grá, nach bhfuil, Pablo Picasso?

[Picasso]
Tá go deimhin. Dúirt mé an méid seo a leanas le cailín óg a chuir faoi agallamh mé do nuachtán éigin an lá faoi dheireadh: “Tuigeann tú nach bhfuil ach aon chineál grá amháin ann, nach dtuigeann?”

[Agallóir]
Taitníonn daoine go mór leat, nach dtaitníonn?

[Picasso]
Cinnte, is breá liom daoine.

[Agallóir]
Gach duine?

[Picasso]
Ní hamháin gur breá liom daoine. Is breá liom rudaí cosúil le murlán, 
Pota seomra, rud ar bith.

[Agallóir]
An dtaitníonn an teilifís leat? Ní dóigh liom go dtaitníonn.

[Picasso]
Cinnte, taitníonn! Tá teilifís agam...

Tharla an rud ar fad lá amháin nuair a bhí bainis Bhanphrionsa Margaret ar siúl, agus thug duine éigin teilifís ar iasacht dom ionas go bhféadfainn breathnú ar an mbainis. Agus ina dhiaidh sin lean mé ar aghaidh ag breathnú ar an teilifís.

[Agallóir]
An raibh a fhios agat go mbeadh tú breá cumasach os comhair na gceamaraí teilifíse? 
Tú a fhágáil leat féin, i d’aonar, saor. Chruthófá… Chruthófá rudaí iontacha do na breathnóirí… Chruthófaí rud éigin fiúntach

Seans! Uaireanta, feicim rudaí iontacha ar an teilifís, rudaí iontacha ar breá liom iad agus a bhfuil spéis agam iontu! Ach uaireanta eile feicim rudaí uafásacha…

Tá mé á rá seo leat de bhrí go bhfuilimid ar fad inár n-aonar ach… ó bhuel níl sé sin fíor, tá gach duine ag éisteacht liom!

[Agallóir]
Dá mbeadh ort an tréimhse, an pictiúr, an saothar a mhairfeadh i do dhiaidh a roghnú. Céard a roghnófá? Cén saothar? Cén tréimhse?

[Picasso]
Is ceist deacair atá ann… Cruthaítear pictiúir bunaithe ar rúin atá nasctha go dlúth le nóiméad sonrach, rúin a bhaineann leis an tréimhse agus leis an mbail atá ort féin agus ar gach duine eile, agus sin an chúis atá leis an deacracht a bhaineann leis an gceist seo a fhreagairt.

Nuair a tharla Guernica, is mise a phéinteáil an saothar, nach bhfuil an ceart agam? De bhrí gur tubaiste mhór a bhí ann, agus túsphointe go leor saothar eile atá feicthe againn fiú. Ach céard eile is féidir a rá, sin mar a tharlaíonn. Is rud pearsanta atá ann, nach ea?

Go bunúsach, is cuimhní cinn iad seo a scríobhann tú duit féin i leabhair nótaí.

[Agallóir]
Tá tú an-óg, Pablo Picasso. An dóigh leat uaireanta…

[Picasso]
Tá a fhios agat cén aois mé, nach bhfuil? Ach b’fhéidir go bhfuil tú fós óg i ndeireadh na dála!
 

English text

[Picasso] 
I was once in Nice where I was asked to read a little piece of paper. It was when we welcomed God knows how many thousands and thousands of youth worldwide.

Do you remember? Many years ago.

So I was there, standing on the huge war memorial, with a crowd spreading from La Boca to Nice, like that, on the road.

So there, I read, I don’t remember what it was because it was very short and I didn’t even write it, and finally I said a few words with the greatest success or so it seems. I don’t know how they managed to hear me, as I am not used to speaking into a microphone.

[Interviewer] 
But last night was fantastic. I was watching you in the middle of this vast room. You looked small, almost lost within this crowd.

[Picasso] 
Yes…yes…yes…

[Interviewer] 
Were you still impressed?

[Picasso] 
I was impressed, still a little moved by this kind of sympathy, love, or friendship, or whatever you call it, that so many people have for me.

[Interviewer] 
And you are very fond of the word love, aren’t you, Pablo Picasso?

[Picasso] 
I am indeed. The other day I told a young girl who interviewed me for some newspaper: “You know there is only love, right?”

[Interviewer] 
You like people very much, don’t you?

[Picasso] 
Yes I really like people.

[Interviewer] 
Everybody?

[Picasso] 
It’s not only people that I like. I also even like a doorknob, a chamber pot, anything.

[Interviewer] 
Do you like television? I don’t think you do.

[Picasso] 
Yes I do! I have it…

It all started one day for the wedding of Princess Margaret, and someone lent me a TV set so that I could watch her getting married. And after that I’ve kept watching it.

[Interviewer] 
Do you know what would be great when you’re in front of the tv cameras? 
To leave you be, all alone, free. You’d make… You’d make wonderful things for the viewers… You’d really create something

[Picasso] 
Probably! Sometimes I find wonderful things on TV, very pretty things that I love and that interest me! But sometimes it’s just terrible…

I tell you this because we are all alone but… oh no that’s not true, everyone is listening to me!

[Interviewer] 
If you had to choose the period, the painting, the work which would outlive you. What would it be? Which piece? Which period?

[Picasso] 
It’s a difficult question… Paintings are created with intensions that belong so much to a specific moment, intensions of the time and the state in which you and everybody else are, and that’s why it’s very difficult to answer.

When Guernica happened, I painted it, right? Because it was a great catastrophe, and even the starting point of many others that we witnessed. But hey, that’s how it is. It’s personal, isn’t it?

Basically, these are memories that you write to yourself in notebooks.

[Interviewer] 
You are amazingly young, Pablo Picasso. Do you sometimes think…

[Picasso] 
You know my age, don’t you? But maybe it’s a young age after all!

Credits: 

Yvan Lemaire, Graffiti. Rencontre avec Pablo Picasso, 1966. © Images d’archives SONUMA-RTBF. © Succession Picasso / DACS, London 2025

Acknowledgements: 

The exhibition is organised by the National Gallery of Ireland in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris. 

Proudly supported by KPMG Ireland, Exhibition Partner.

The Gallery would like to thank the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport for their ongoing support.