Joan Miro, Catalan Artist

Today I attended a lecture by Dr. Nancy Heller at the Philadelphia Museum of Art about Joan Miro. Dr. Heller was a great speaker - she shared alot of knowledge, slides of Miro's works and her wonderful sense of humor with us. Here is a recap of my notes plus some images I found on the internet:

First, Joan Miro is a man, not a woman named "Joan." Miro is from the Catalan region of Spain and his first name is a variation of Juan or John. It is pronounced zhu (long u)-on (just like the word). The accent is on the second syllable. It almost sounds like saying "shoe on."

Miro grew in in Barcelona which was one of the art centers of the world, Paris and New York being the others. Although he took business classes to please his practical parents, he took art classes at night for himself. He did have a job in the business field but he was miserable, took some time off, and never went back. His mind was made up and no one was going to change it. He was going to be an artist!

Those who knew him described him as quiet and genial. This was quite the contrast to his works of art which are "wild and crazy." Miro once said he was better at emotionally reacting to his subject matter, than at depicting it realistically. He enjoyed avant garde art and experimental poetry. Going against convention appealed to him.




Miro was a "modernist" artist ahead of his time. His works were surreal and cubist before these styles became "movements." He was a painter, sculptor and illustrator. He also worked with bronze, ceramics and tapestries as well as designed sets and costumes for theater and ballet with Max Ernst. He literally has thousands of works to his credit. Miro's Spanish contemporaries were Salvadore Dali and Pablo Picasso. He was befriended by Ernest Hemingway.




Some people refer to his work as being "abstract" but he argued otherwise, stating every single subject and detail is derived from nature. That being said, "surrealism" is a better word for his works. It might be hard to figure out what something is sometimes, but everything exists in our world - it's just very distorted in form and color.

Most of Miro's works can be described as surreal or cubist. Sometimes he combined both styles in one picture. Sometimes he even threw in a little realism. Miro was consistently inconsistent. He loved to mix things up. He also loved to fill pictures with lots of detail and sometimes letters or words.




Miro's works were mostly fun and playful but during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's his works are a little bit scary, even monsterous looking. When this war broke out, Miro was visiting Paris. He was unable to return home for several years. During the 1960's he went through a "minimalist" phase and, in the late 1970's, he worked with the theater designing sets, costumes, brochures and posters.



Because Miro owned cats, they appear quite often as subjects or details within a picture. There are also alot of dogs and birds in his works. His Catalan heritage also shows up in his pictures - the landscape, the barretina, a droopy-topped hat popular in Catalan, shows up sometimes as a hat, sometimes as a design. Miro also liked to depict the Sardana dance - just look for a circle of people holding hands somewhere in a painting. The bright yellow painting (above) has the letters "Sard."





Here is a nice video of Miro's works plus some wonderful music. Sit back and enjoy!




Here's a video of the Sardana dance, a popular folk dance:



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WANNA BE AN ART CRITIC?

Anyone interested in being a writer for art-related subjects = shows, events, products? Imagine reviewing art, announcing upcoming shows, being an art critic and letting the world know about a new product for artists all from the comfort of your home and getting paid to do it.

Remember those short essays you wrote back in high school? It's that easy (or hard) but this time around you get PAID. You won't get rich but with a few projects under your belt you can fill your pockets with some spending money and I know we can also use more of that.

Back in the "old days" advertising for upcoming shows and events at museums or sales at art supply stores was done in the newspaper or on TV. There was also word-of-mouth aka "buzz."

Companies now use blog marketing and blog advertising to get their word out. If you have a blog, these companies want you to be their advertising media and they will pay you for it. They need you to get the word out.

This is how it works- a company, museum or other organization contacts SNAPBOMB with assignments. All you have to do is write a little diddy for them and get paid.

The money varies and what you get paid depends upon two things - the value of the article itself...and your blog's value as a source of advertising. Newer blogs or ones with few readers/hits earn less than blogs are more established and get higher traffic. Having a good, strong match between your blog's theme and the ad are in your favor. As your blog matures and gets increased traffic, your assignments will generate higher pay. If you are a newbie, don't get discouraged. Everyone has to start somewhere!

If you are interested in some extra money, visit http://www.snapbomb.com/bloggers.html?acp=7551 and get yourself set up. Tell them about your blogs and start writing! Soon you can tell everyone you are a paid art critic!

ART VS.CRAFT

Which is it?

Art and Craft are two different things! What some people call their "art" program is really a craft program and is misleading if you are looking for a way to express yourself where there are no rules, no wrong answers, where you can be free and creative. Most projects are somewhere between the two, in that shade of gray area.

Pure art lets you do whatever you want. In not-so-pure art you might be told what media to use (clay, canvas and paint, a pile of misc stuff and some glue) but you can do whatever you want with these items. If you are told what the finished item must resemble, then you are moving even closer toward that blurry line that separates art from craft. Hey, everyone- lets make flowers out of colored construction paper! (but how the flowers look are up to each person's imagination).

If you are told the steps to follow and what your project must look like (and everyone else's will look just like yours) than it's definitely a craft. Reimagine the flower project where you are told how many stems and what their sizes are, to follow a pattern for the leaves and petals and what colors to use for the petals - now it's 100% craft which leaves absolutely no room for imagination or creativity.

To cover all bases, most classes or teachers call their program "Arts and Crafts." If you are okay with either then sign up. If you are definitely looking for a more pure art or pure craft, then ask questions before signing on with the program!

If a child has difficulty with following directions and steps, then put them in a pure art program where they can do no wrong. Success is guarenteed! Self-esteem shall soar! AND NEVER EVER ask "what is it?" Just gush on about how cool the end result is, compliment the colors chosen, the shapes that evolved. This is best for the younger kids as well as anyone who has difficulty making something look the way it's "supposed" to look.

Alot of us have it drilled into our heads that our art has to "look" like something. That's why we have problems with abstract art. And many of us have it in our heads that the item has to look photo realistic. Freud would allow you to blame this on your parents, grandparents and society as a whole. I can blame my brainwashing on my dad. I'm all grown up now but he still looks over my shoulder (figuratively).

Just remember that before cameras, portrait painting ruled the earth. Kings and Queeens wanted to be remembered. Realism was demanded. It took society quite awhile to accept landscapes and still lifes, let alone the craziness of abstract art. It's gonna take some time for some of us to snap out of that mindset.