See things differently.
The Spanish modern artist Joan Miro certainly did. His favorite subjects were women, because they are symbols of fertility and life; birds, because they stand for imagination; and stars because they sparkle. But children shouldn't look for their literal representations in the exhibit of 50 paintings, drawings and sculptures at the Seattle Art Museum. The works are collected from the last 20 years of the artist's life (1963-1981), when he was an older man painting like a delighted child.
As you walk into the exhibit, the first thing you see is his giant, primary-colored "Woman, Bird and Star," which I think is a picture of happiness. There were quite a few children on the day I went through, and most of them were laughing and pointing at the works. As you look at the colorful drawings and paintings, see which creatures and people (or "personages") you can find.
Can you see the bird in most of the paintings and drawings? Is the head of the person always above the chest, or superimposed on it? What kind of feeling or mood do you get from the picture? Try to guess before you look at the title, which sometimes tells you what the artist was feeling (i.e. "Woman Entranced by the Escape of Shooting Stars").
Can you find a handprint, a fish-like creature, baby footprints, a mouse or a dog? Do the minimalist pictures on white backgrounds make you think of fireworks, waving poppies or erratically flying birds?
Some of the pieces are partly inspired by graffiti, and a video shows Miro painting a huge outdoor mural on a city street, using oversized raggedy brushes.
The center of each room showcases Miro's found-object sculptures. He said he was creating a "phantasmagoric world of living monsters" that were "tragic, rather than lighthearted." But to me they looked mostly friendly and often humorous.
My son pointed out that a piece entitled "Warrior King" was made with a battered piece of wood that looked "battle worn," but his arm was made out of a spoon and made him look like a person dishing up a nice bowl of spaghetti. A piece entitled "dancer" made people looking at it lift up their arms like the sculpture.
Miro unifies his pieces of wood or metal with household objects by casting them in bronze. Can you find a flattened basket, doll legs, a gourd, a bath sponge, bits of faucets, a garden rake, a tin can or a broken picture frame? Can you find a face on most of the sculptures? Can you find the bird on many of them?
At the end of the exhibit, viewers have a chance to create their own "Miro-like" designs on computer screens. You can also take your children down to the Chase Art Studio on the first floor of the museum (on the staircase with the stone camels) to make a found-object assemblage.
When you go home, you could try painting on a long piece of paper or board with a mop or large brush, just as Miro painted his murals. Or, go to Value Village, Goodwill or a hardware store, buy $5 worth of junk, and stick it to pieces of wood or stone to make a human or animal figure. To unify it, paint the whole assemblage in one color, imitating Miro's bronze coating.
Remember that children 12 and younger attend the art museum for free, and that the Chase Art Studio is free for everyone, whether or not you pay to visit the main galleries.
Photo credit: Figures, Birds, Constellations, 1976, Joan Miró, Spanish, 1893-1983, oil on canvas, 51 x 76 9/16 in., Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. © Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris 2014.
Where: Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., downtown Seattle.
When: Through May 26. Wednesday and Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Cost: Adults $19.50; seniors (62+) $17.50; youth ages 13-17 and students with ID $12.50; children 12 and younger free. Teen Tix $5 (www.teentix.org/sign-up). Free admission to regular museum exhibits first Thursdays, with a $6-$9 surcharge for the Miro exhibit for those 20 and older.
Contact: 206-654-3137; www.seattleartmuseum.org.
Wenda Reed is a Seattle-area writer and art lover, and a frequent reviewer for Seattle’s Child.
