No one wants to be misunderstood, and being a great artist does not give you an exemption from this rule. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) had a particularly-memorable way of discouraging anyone from questioning the meaning of his works.

As historian Arthur I. Miller (not the playwright) details in his book, Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time And The Beauty That Causes Havoc, Picasso carried a Browning revolver, filled with blanks. Miller explains:

He would fire at admirers inquiring about the meaning of his paintings, his theory of aesthetics, … disposing of bourgeois boors, morons and philistines.

Fortunately, all the great artist shot with his gun were blanks. Others who have attempted to be dramatic with weapons, such as the lawyer who shot himself while attempting to demonstrate how one could accidentally shoot himself, have not fared as well.

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