soaring brown and white owl deconstructed through cubist lens, Braque-style color palette of ochres and blues, modernist interpretation of natural flight

Influenced by African art, Pablo Picasso began the movement and he practiced it for only 3 years, but then he got board.  I guess he had enough but never perfected the craft.

 

Cubists rejected single-point perspective, instead showing objects from multiple viewpoints simultaneously.

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Key Influences from African Art

1. Geometric Abstraction

• African masks used simplified, geometric forms rather than realistic representation

• Faces were broken down into basic shapes: ovals, triangles, cylinders

• This showed Picasso that art didn't need to imitate nature realistically

2. Multiple Viewpoints

• African sculptures often combined frontal and profile views simultaneously

• Features were arranged conceptually rather than naturalistically

• This directly inspired Cubism's signature technique of showing objects from multiple angles at once

3. Expressive Distortion

• African art prioritized spiritual and symbolic meaning over physical accuracy

• Features were exaggerated or simplified for emotional/ritual impact

• Picasso adopted this freedom to distort forms for expressive purposes

4. Flattening of Space

• African masks emphasized surface patterns and frontal presentation

• This influenced Cubism's rejection of traditional Renaissance perspective

• Led to the flattened, fragmented picture plane

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What's the owl about?

Pablo Picasso had a genuine affection for owls and even kept a pet owl named Ubu (sometimes called "Le Hibou") that lived in his studio in the south of France during the 1950s. The owl became a cherished companion and muse, appearing in several of his ceramic works and paintings from this period. Picasso was photographed multiple times with the owl perched on his arm or shoulder, and these images became iconic representations of the artist in his later years. The owl's presence reflected Picasso's broader love of animals—he kept numerous pets throughout his life including dogs, goats, and doves—and the bird's symbolism of wisdom and mystery resonated with his artistic identity. The owl motif appears in various Picasso ceramics and lithographs from the 1950s-60s, often rendered with his characteristic simplification and bold lines, transforming the nocturnal bird into playful, abstracted forms that captured both its essence and Picasso's whimsical interpretation.

Important Context

It's crucial to note that:
 

• African art was in Paris due to colonial exploitation of and looting.  Research the "Berlin Conference" and it will blow your mind.

• These objects were sacred, ritual items removed from their cultural context

• Picasso and other European artists viewed them as "primitive" art (a problematic term)

• They appreciated the formal qualities while often ignoring the cultural significance

• This represents cultural appropriation within a colonial power dynamic

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Picasso's later said the African masks were "more than just sculptures... they were magical objects" that helped him understand art could be a form of intervention between humans and the unknown.

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While the movement persists and is popular today, Picasso himself got bored in 3 years and never perfected the craft.  
 

CTF Application

 

Just as you cannot understand a cubist painting from one angle, you cannot solve this CTF from one perspective:
 

• Visual Interface: The perspective cards and decoder form

• Source Code View: HTML comments revealing the "3 years" clue

• Browser Console: Red herring messages about hex fragments

• Encoded Data: Binary, Base64, and ROT13 requiring different "lenses"
   

Lesson: Never trust a single viewpoint in cybersecurity. Examine applications from multiple angles—frontend, backend, network traffic, source code, and metadata. What appears simple on the surface often hides complexity beneath.

 

Geometric Abstraction = Breaking Down Complex Challenges

Cubist Principle: African masks broke faces into basic geometric shapes—ovals, triangles, cylinders. This showed that complex forms could be simplified into fundamental building blocks.

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CTF Application:

Fragment 1: CTF (theres more to this)

Fragment 2: {0wl (the opening, it must look like something)

Fragment 3: MuLt1PlE_FlyGht (the body, complex but deconstructed)

Fragment 4: 3 (the single point of this)

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Lesson: Complex security problems should be deconstructed into smaller, manageable pieces. Don't try to solve everything at once—identify the individual components, analyze each separately, then reassemble. This is the essence of both analytical cubism and analytical thinking in cybersecurity.

 

Fragmentation = Data in Transit

Cubist Principle: Cubism fragments objects and scatters them across the canvas. The viewer must mentally reassemble the pieces to understand the whole—like Picasso's soaring owl rendered in ochres and blues, its flight path broken into simultaneous moments.
 

CTF Application:

The flag doesn't exist in one place—it's fragmented across:

• Three clickable perspective cards

• Different encoding schemes

• Hidden HTML comments

• The assembly form that requires manual reconstruction
   

Lesson: In modern cybersecurity, data is rarely transmitted whole. Packets are fragmented, APIs return partial responses, and information is distributed across systems. Learning to identify, collect, and reassemble fragmented data is critical—whether you're performing forensics, reverse engineering, or penetration testing.

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Multiple Viewpoints = Encoding as Cultural Translation

Cubist Principle: African sculptures arranged features conceptually rather than naturalistically, showing what they knew rather than what they saw. This inspired cubism's technique of showing multiple angles simultaneously.

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CTF Application: Each encoding represents a different "cultural language":

• Binary (01000011...): The machine's perspective—how computers "see"

• Base64 (ezByVmEx): The network's perspective—how data travels safely

• ROT13 (ZhYg1CyR...): The cipher's perspective—how secrets hide in plain sight

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You must "translate" between these perspectives to understand the whole message.

Lesson: Data exists in multiple "languages" (encodings, formats, protocols). A skilled analyst must be multilingual—understanding hexadecimal, ASCII, Unicode, encrypted vs. plaintext, compressed formats, and more. Each encoding is a different lens through which to view the same information.

 

The Wisdom of the Ow-el = Knowing What to Ignore

The Owl Context: Picasso's pet owl Ubu symbolized wisdom and mystery. The owl sees in darkness what others cannot—but also knows when to remain still and observe rather than act.

 

CTF Application: The challenge includes deliberate red herrings:

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• Hex fragments in CSS comments (Fragment-A: 5a47, Fragment-B: 564a, Fragment-C: 3342)

• Console messages suggesting these fragments matter

• A footer data attribute with "african-cipher"

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The wise solver recognizes these are distractions and focuses on the three main encoded fragments.

 

Lesson: In security assessments, you'll encounter noise—false positives, rabbit holes, intentional decoys. Wisdom isn't just finding vulnerabilities; it's knowing which findings matter and which are distractions. Don't waste time on every tangent. Like Picasso's owl watching quietly in the night, sometimes the best move is patient observation.

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Flattening of Space = Simplicity in Complexity

Cubist Principle: African masks emphasized surface patterns and frontal presentation, flattening three-dimensional subjects onto two-dimensional planes. Cubism adopted this rejection of deep perspective.

 

CTF Application: Despite seeming complex, this CTF flattens to a simple structure:

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1. Click three things

2. Decode three fragments

3. Find one number

4. Assemble

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The apparent complexity (multiple encodings, hidden clues, artistic theme) is really a flat, linear process once you understand the pattern.

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Lesson: Complex-looking systems often have simple underlying logic. Don't be intimidated by elaborate interfaces or convoluted presentations. Strip away the decoration, flatten the structure, and you'll often find the core mechanism is straightforward. This applies to everything from obfuscated malware to over-engineered web applications.

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The Three-Year Window = Time-Boxed Exploration

Historical Context: Picasso practiced analytical cubism for only 3 years (1909-1912) before moving on. He borrowed from African art, extracted what he needed, and abandoned the style once it no longer served him.
 

CTF Application: The number "3" is the final key—hidden in the HTML comments, it represents the time limitation. You must find it to complete the challenge.
 

Lesson: In penetration testing and security research, time is always limited. You can't explore every possibility forever. Set time boxes for each phase of testing. If a technique isn't yielding results after a reasonable period, move on to a different approach. Picasso didn't perfect cubism—he experimented, learned what he needed, and evolved. Similarly, security professionals must know when to pivot strategies rather than endlessly pursuing diminishing returns.

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Expressive Distortion = Obfuscation Techniques

Cubist Principle: African art prioritized spiritual meaning over physical accuracy, exaggerating features for ritual impact. Picasso adopted this freedom to distort reality for expressive purposes.

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CTF Application: The encodings "distort" the plaintext flag into unrecognizable forms:

• CTF becomes 01000011 01010100 01000110 (binary distortion)

• {0wl becomes ezByVmEx (base64 distortion)

• MuLt1PlE_FlyGht becomes ZhYg1CyR_SynTug (ROT13 distortion)

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Each distortion serves a "spiritual purpose"—protecting the flag from immediate visibility.

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Lesson: Obfuscation techniques (encoding, encryption, packing, minification) distort data to hide its true meaning. Understanding common obfuscation methods is essential. Just as an art historian can recognize cubist distortion patterns, a security analyst must recognize encoding patterns—and know how to reverse them.

 

Colonial Appropriation = Ethical Considerations in Security

Critical Context: Picasso's cubism appropriated African art that was looted during colonial exploitation (see: Berlin Conference, 1884-1885). These sacred ritual objects were torn from their cultural context, viewed as "primitive," and used to fuel European modernism. Picasso acknowledged they were "magical objects" but never fully grappled with the colonial violence that brought them to Paris.

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CTF Application: This challenge uses the aesthetic of cubism without perpetuating harm. However, it raises important questions:

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• Who gets credit for innovations? (African artists created multi-perspective art long before Picasso)

• What is the context behind what we study? (The Berlin Conference partitioned Africa among European powers)

• Are we learning from others respectfully or extractively?

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Lesson: In cybersecurity, we constantly study techniques developed by others—exploit code, defense mechanisms, cultural approaches to privacy. We must ask:

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• Are we crediting sources properly? Don't claim discoveries that aren't yours.

• Are we respecting boundaries? Bug bounties and responsible disclosure matter.

• Are we causing harm? Penetration testing without permission is illegal, regardless of intent.

• Are we perpetuating systemic problems? Security tools can be used for surveillance and oppression.

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Just as Picasso borrowed without fully acknowledging the exploitation that enabled his "inspiration," we must ensure our security work doesn't extract value from vulnerable communities or perpetuate harmful power dynamics. Ethical hacking means considering the broader context of our actions.

 

The Braque-Style Palette = Camouflage and Visibility

Artistic Detail: The challenge uses Braque's signature ochres (#D4A574, #CD853F) and blues (#4682B4, #5F9EA0)—earthy, muted tones that both reveal and conceal.

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CTF Application: The color coding provides visual hints:

• Ochre/brown cards contain certain clue types

• Blue cards contain others

• CSS comments hide fragments in "ochre" and "blue" annotations

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Colors both guide and misdirect the solver.

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Lesson: In user interfaces and system design, color can indicate status, priority, or category—but can also be used deceptively. Phishing sites mimic legitimate color schemes. Malware disguises itself with system-like icons. Pay attention to visual cues, but verify them through technical inspection. Never trust appearance alone.

 

Picasso Got Bored in 3 Years = Avoid Trend-Chasing

Critical Perspective: Picasso himself got bored in 3 years and never perfected the craft. It's a trend today, but quite frankly, I believe cubism to be an asshole thing to do. There are more intriguing styles of the craft developed and used out of love.  Like Art Nouveau, though obsessive, is purely out of love.  We will cover that.
 

CTF Application: The challenge uses cubism as a theme, not as an endorsement. The "3 years" becomes a puzzle element, but the deeper lesson is about commitment vs. exploitation.

 

Lesson: In cybersecurity, avoid chasing trends without depth:
 

• Don't adopt "the latest security framework" just because it's popular

• Don't claim expertise in tools you've only briefly explored

• Don't extract techniques from communities (open-source projects, hacker forums, cultural practices) without giving back or understanding context

• Build things with love and intention, not just for clout
   

The best security professionals master fundamentals deeply rather than superficially sampling whatever's trending. Unlike Picasso who abandoned cubism once it served his ego, build practices and skills that you're committed to perfecting over time—with respect for those who came before you.

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Final Reflection: From Cubist Owl to Cybersecurity Wisdom

The owl in Picasso's studio watched silently as the artist worked—a symbol of wisdom observing creation. In this CTF, the "soaring brown and white owl deconstructed through cubist lens" becomes a metaphor for how we approach complex problems:

 

• See from multiple angles (reconnaissance, source inspection, encoded data)

• Break complexity into geometric pieces (fragmentation, modular analysis)

• Translate between perspectives (encoding as cultural language)

• Know what to ignore (red herrings, rabbit holes)

• Flatten apparent complexity (find simple patterns)

• Work within time constraints (the 3-year window)

• Reverse obfuscation (decode distorted reality)

• Act ethically (acknowledge appropriation and exploitation)

• Choose meaningful colors (visual design as guide and camouflage)

• Commit deeply, not superficially (master fundamentals, don't just trend-chase)

• But most importantly: Question the history behind what you study. Just as cubism cannot be separated from colonial appropriation of African art, cybersecurity cannot be separated from questions of surveillance, power, and who gets protected vs. exploited.
   

The owl eventually soars not in fragments, but whole— we must view it from multiple perspectives to understand its flight.
 

CTF solved. Lessons learned. Wisdom gained. 🦉
 

#cubism #cubist #cubistowl #analyticalcubism #geometricart #fragmentation

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"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." — Edgar Degas
"Security is not what you build, but what you make others question." — Cyber NOW Education