I’m now an official fan of Joan Miro. After procrastinating on seeing the exhibition of Miro at the Seattle Art Museum for a few months, I finally went to the exhibition over this weekend, the final weekend of the exhibition.
I liked it! (And this isn’t something I say about all the exhibitions I attend). I loved the colors, the bold lines and the negative space. I loved the subtle humor set over weighty, substantial strokes.
I especially loved the minimalistic pieces. There was one piece called Oiseau dans l’espace (Bird in Space) which basically is a dotted line drawn diagonally on a white canvas (http://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/collection/artwork/oiseau-dans-lespace-bird-space). As I looked at it, I couldn’t help but utter, ‘How do you create a masterpiece with just one line?’ And what does that sound like in music?
As I walked through the gallery, the musician in me was interacting with Miro’s art, creating visions of Miro’s art as music. So now I have the book of the exhibition published by the museum with beautiful pictures of Miro’s paintings and sculptures and I’m going to ask my students to create music based on a painting (Yes, I use EVERYTHING good I come in contact with in my teaching).
I came home and found these quotes by Miro. No wonder I like his art!:
“I feel the need of attaining the maximum of intensity with the minimum of means. It is this which has led me to give my painting a character of even greater bareness.”
“I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.”
“The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness.”
So Seattle, you have one more day to go see Miro!
Kristina Lee Music 