Joan Mir

(pronounced Hoh-anh Mee-roh)

1893 - 1983
Joan Mir
Born in Barcelona, Spain, over 100 years ago.
Talented at different types of art: painting, sculpture,
pottery, and collages.
Known for his playful, imaginative, child-like expressions
created with bright colors, lines, symbols and shapes.
Studied in Paris, France after convincing his parents to let
him become an artist. At the time, Paris was the center of
creativity in Europe and many talented artists and writers
lived there.
Successful artist during his lifetime. Mirs art is in
museums all over the world.
La Masia (The Farm),
1922
Joan Mir
Painted in Spain of his familys
country house (La Masia in
Spanish), for which he had fond
memories. It took over a year
to complete.
Very detailed and no object too
small. Mir felt that everything
in a painting was as important
as anything else -- an ant as
important as a mountain.
Notice the various tools, plants,
trees, animals (snail, lizard,
horse, birds, goat, rooster) and
the detail of the house (inside
and outside).
La Masia (The Farm) 1922
Joan Mir
His style changed to a surrealist
(dreamlike) style. Objects in his
paintings acted as symbols, and
stood for certain things.
Often objects in Mirs paintings
appear to be floating in space.
They may seem upside down, or
unconnected. This helps give
them a dreamlike quality.
Ideas for his artwork came from
simple objects. For example, a
grain of dust, a bug on a wall or
wheel. Also from his
subconscious (the part of your
brain of which youre not fully
aware). Sometimes he would
stare at the ceiling at night and
see shapes.
Dutch Interior,1928
Joan Mir
Dutch Interior,1928
This painting
was inspired by
a trip to Holland.
At first glance,
its hard to
identify any
specific objects.
If you continue to
look and use
your imagination,
lots of
interesting,
identifiable
things appear.
bird
dog
Joan Mir
Used symbols, shapes
and lines, some
squiggly, to make
pictures.
Used shapes in different
ways to show
relationships.
Mirs images almost
always had eyes; his
signature symbol. They
look out from the
painting at the viewer.
Mirs teachers said its
more important to walk
around and use your
eyes than to carry a
sketchbook.
Woman encircled by flight of bird, 1941
Joan Mir
Mir loved color!
Often used bright
primary colors: blue,
yellow and red. Green,
black and white too.
To Mir, conveying a
feeling was more
important than making a
picture look real. This is
called an abstract style
of art.
Constellation, Awakening at Dawn, 1941

Realism

Q: How are these paintings similar? They are both
dogs.
A: How are they different? The dog on the left looks
real. The dog on the right is considered abstract. It
does not look as realistic.

Abstract

Mirs symbols are
abstract but based in
reality; a man, bird,
sun, stars, fish, spirals,
coils, mouths,
footprints, etc.
Passage of the Divine Bird, 1941
Do you see any of Mirs symbols in his
paintings?
Joan Mir
Lots of energy in Mirs
paintings. In one respect
they feel chaotic, but
each line is planned and
relates to other parts of
the painting.
One of his teachers
encouraged him to use
poetry and music. To
apply colors like words
that shape poems, like
notes that shape music.
Swallow, Love 1934


Various works by Joan Mir
In a picture, it should be
possible to discover new
things every time you see it.
You can look at a picture for a
week together and never think
of it again. You can also look
at a picture for a second and
think of it all your life. -- Joan
Mir
Look at this painting from
different perspectives on the
next three slides. See if you
notice anything new about the
painting.
Which way do you like the
painting best?
Figures, Dog in front of Sun, 1949
Figures, Dog in front of Sun, 1949
Figures, Dog in front of Sun, 1949
Figures, Dog in front of Sun, 1949
What do you see or recognize in the
painting?
What shapes? What are they
supposed to be?
What types of lines? Straight or
curvy?
What colors? Why did Mir use
them?
If this was a picture Mir made from
a dream, what was happening in the
dream?
Can you find the people, sun and
dog?
How does this painting make you
feel? Happy or Sad? Crowded?
Empty?
People and Dog in Sun, 1949
Mirs Chicago, 1981
originally named The Sun, the moon, and one star
You can see some of
Mirs artwork in
person in Chicago.
Go see this piece of
Mir Sculpture in
Chicagos Brunswick
plaza.
Suggested projects
Have students draw three shapes on paper (e.g. circle, square, star, moon).
Ask them to show relationship between shapes by drawing straight and
curved lines between and around the shapes.
Put several objects in a few paper bags. Have student reach into bag
without looking and draw what they feel (Mirs teacher used this technique).
Give student a paper with randomly shaped piece of string glued to it.
Discuss Mirs need to have a starting point for his piece of work. Have
student rotate paper and use imagination to see what they want to create.
Use colors, shapes, lines.
Draw squiggly lines all around paper (eyes opened or closed) and have
student find images within lines. Draw a face at intersecting lines and color.
Create a sculpture with clay and objects in Cultural arts closet (buttons,
beads, pasta, beans, pipe cleaners, etc.)
Make copies of Mirs coloring page in suggested activities and use bright
paints, markers or crayons to color.
Music to play during activity

Music to play during activity

Music to play during activity