Classroom use of the art print.

Joan Miro (Spanish; 1893-1983). Self-Portarit (Young Man in a Red Shirt), 1919 Oil on canvass; 28 1/4 x 23 1/8. Musee Picasso, Paris.

THINGS TO LEARN

* In order to appreciate the art of Joan Miro, students need to know something about the art movement called Surrealism.

Surrealism began about 80 years ago soon after the horrors of World War I had ended. Instead of painting objects in the world around them, surrealist artists found their inspiration in dreams, and those feelings and emotions that people have deep inside them. Their goal was to achieve a greater truth from these ideas and feelings than was possible from looking at the everyday world. The word, "Surrealism," comes from the idea of super-reality or sur-reality. Some of the leading surrealist artists were Giorgio de Chirico, Salvador Dali, Yves Tanguy, Rene Magritte, Joan Miro and Jean Arp.

* Students should study as many examples of Joan Miro's art as possible so they can recognize his work when they see it. Doing this will enable them to get a more complete idea of what his life's work looks like than is possible from this self-portrait, which was painted early in his career. School and local libraries are good sources for these images.

A more lasting record of his work that may also help other students can be collections of photocopies of his work that students particularly like, together with notes about each artwork.

* The reproductions to be found in art books provide some idea of what his artworks look like, but they give very little idea of how productive he was. Miro worked continuously. In 1968 alone, he produced 60 paintings, 28 graphic prints and 30 pieces of sculpture--mainly cast in bronze. In many ways he was as productive as another famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso.

* We are accustomed to seeing artworks with titles, but Miro didn't like putting titles to his creations. To get around this problem, he often wrote lines of poetry in place of titles to help viewers get a feeling for what the artwork was about. on the other hand, he gave names to sets of artworks that were done at about the same time, such as "Barcelona Suite," "Constellations" and "Savage Paintings."

* In addition to painting pictures, Miro made lithograph prints, engravings and ceramics. Lithography is a way of printing done with a grease-marker on stone or metal. Engraving is done by scratching a drawing with a sharp tool (burin) on a metal sheet and then making a print from the scratched lines. Miro's ceramics were made with clay that was baked in a kiln to make it permanent. They were then painted with a powdery liquid, which turned into a kind of glass (glaze) when they were baked a second time in a kiln.

THINGS TO DO

* Find the birthplace of Joan Miro on a map of Europe. The city of Barcelona is the capital of the province of Catalonia in the eastern part of Spain on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, close to the border with France. Miro thought of Catalonia as his home throughout his life even though he lived for long periods in other places.

* Paint or draw a face in the style used by Cubist artists. Students may use this portrait to guide them or look at Cubist faces made by other Cubist artists found in library art books. The face may be a self-portrait or it may be of another student in the class.

The purpose of this experience is for students to do what Miro attempted, which is to experiment with a new artistic style to create an original artwork of their own.

* Make a collection of photocopies of the art of the young Surrealist artists Miro met when he went to live in Paris. Talk or write about how similar and how different these artworks are compared with the work of Joan Miro.

* Using reproductions from art books about Joan Miro's later art, make a mural on a large sheet of paper that resembles some of the art they saw. The mural may be copied from one of Miro's artworks or it may be an original idea.

* Joan Miro thought deeply about the meaning of art and when he was a young man he learned from other artists by talking with them. Some students in school may be ready for this kind of experience, where they may talk together about art they think is important.

While Miro is likely to have talked about painting, students today may prefer to talk about TV programs, motion pictures or photography. Discussions may or may not result in making art, although school-produced photography, motion pictures and videos are quite practical.

* Miro's habit of collecting interesting objects in his studio as sources of ideas can be followed in school art rooms. Teachers and students may like to bring to school objects they think are interesting for students to see and use, and in so doing, be following Miro's constant experimentation. Because of limited space, collections of objects in art rooms may have to be changed periodically and returned to their owners to be replaced with new ones.

* Art critics have described Miro's art as a mixture of different feelings including pessimism, violence and humor. Students may be asked to try to decide which artworks of his they can find that are examples of these three kinds of feelings.

BUILDING A PICTURE FILE

This painting may be used to illustrate various art-teaching needs. Potentially useful picture-file categories might include: "Cubist Art"; "Color Variation: Red"; "Self-Portraits"; and "Spanish Artists: Joan Miro."

For ideas about collecting and retrieving pictures to help in teaching art and other subjects, readers are invited to write to: Guy Hubbard c/o Arts & Activities, 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128. Email: [e-mail].