Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape
Encyclopedia
Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape was an exhibition organized by the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona
in collaboration with the Tate Modern
in London. The exhibition was at The Tate from April to September 2011 before moving to the Joan Miró Foundation to open in October 2011 until March 2012. This exhibition brought together 170 works-paintings, sculptures and drawings by Miró from public and private collections around the world.
The exhibition highlights the artist's engagement with his time and his country. Joan Miró was one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. He created a Surrealist language of symbols following his own imagined fantasies and the use of bright colors. His life and work are intertwined with the history of Spain
and Catalonia
in the twentieth century.
, his initial contact with the surrealist poets and painters. Early works include The Farm
and Head of a Catalan Peasant
. His 1926 work Dog Barking at the Moon has been considered to have symbols based on his emerging surrealist ideas although others have interpreted the young dog barking at a ladder as symnolising Miro's ambition.
Later works show his reaction to the Spanish Civil War
which included his Barcelona Series
. At that time the artist accepted a commission from the Government of the Republic, and painted the seal Aidez l'Espagne and The reaper (Catalan peasant in revolt) for the Spanish Pavilion of the Republic of the Paris International Exhibition of 1937 , works is displayed next to the Guernica
by Pablo Picasso . The Second World War resulted in many new images and a large number were included from his Constellations series
.
The final area of the exhibition examines the final years of the dictatorship of General Franco. Works from this period are shown as the triptych The hope of a condemned Man
and May 1968
. The exhibition was criticised for failing to include Miro's qualifications for being a leading Surrealist.
codes that allowed access to visitors in Catalan
, Russian, English and several other languages.
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in collaboration with the Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
in London. The exhibition was at The Tate from April to September 2011 before moving to the Joan Miró Foundation to open in October 2011 until March 2012. This exhibition brought together 170 works-paintings, sculptures and drawings by Miró from public and private collections around the world.
The exhibition highlights the artist's engagement with his time and his country. Joan Miró was one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. He created a Surrealist language of symbols following his own imagined fantasies and the use of bright colors. His life and work are intertwined with the history of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
in the twentieth century.
Description
The exhibition looks at the artists life in chronological roder starting with Joan Miró's links with his home in Mont-roig del CampMont-roig del Camp
Mont-roig del Camp is a town and municipality in the comarca of Baix Camp, Catalonia, Spain. It is in the middle of its comarca, between the Serra de Colldejou and the Mediterranean...
, his initial contact with the surrealist poets and painters. Early works include The Farm
The Farm
The Farm may refer to:In places:* The Farm , a government residence in Canada and home to the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons* The Farm , a community center in California, U.S....
and Head of a Catalan Peasant
Head of a Catalan Peasant
Head of a Catalan Peasant is an emblematic sequence of oil paintings and pencil made by Joan Miro between 1924 and 1925. Miró began this series the same year that André Breton published his Manifesto of Surrealism. The series was made partly in Paris...
. His 1926 work Dog Barking at the Moon has been considered to have symbols based on his emerging surrealist ideas although others have interpreted the young dog barking at a ladder as symnolising Miro's ambition.
Later works show his reaction to the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
which included his Barcelona Series
Barcelona Series
The Barcelona Series is a series of fifty black and white lithographs made by Joan Miró and published in 1944. They are currently in the permanent collection of the Miró Foundation in Barcelona.-Description:...
. At that time the artist accepted a commission from the Government of the Republic, and painted the seal Aidez l'Espagne and The reaper (Catalan peasant in revolt) for the Spanish Pavilion of the Republic of the Paris International Exhibition of 1937 , works is displayed next to the Guernica
Guernica
Guernica may refer to:* Guernica , Spanish Basque town, historical capital of Biscay* Bombing of Guernica, an attack on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War* Guernica , a 1937 painting by Pablo Picasso...
by Pablo Picasso . The Second World War resulted in many new images and a large number were included from his Constellations series
Constellations (Miró)
Constellations is a series of 23 small paintings on paper, initiated by Joan Miro in 1939 in Varengeville-sur-Mer and completed in 1941 between Mallorca and Mont-roig del Camp. The Fundació Joan Miró preserves a work of this series and The Morning Star, one of the most important pieces of the series...
.
The final area of the exhibition examines the final years of the dictatorship of General Franco. Works from this period are shown as the triptych The hope of a condemned Man
The hope of a condemned Man
The hope of a condemned Man is a series of three paintings by Joan Miró in 1974 which are now part of the permanent collection of the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona. - History :...
and May 1968
May 1968 (Miró)
May 1968 is a painting by Joan Miro which he created between 1968 and 1973. It is part of the permanent collection of the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona...
. The exhibition was criticised for failing to include Miro's qualifications for being a leading Surrealist.
Features
When the exhibition was in Barcelona then there was a nearby exhibition of the artists posters. The main exbibition supported by access to Wikipedia using QRpediaQRpedia
QRpedia is a mobile Web based system which uses QR codes to deliver Wikipedia articles to users, in their preferred language. QR codes can easily be generated to link directly to any Uniform Resource Identifier , but the QRpedia system adds further functionality.QRpedia was conceived by Roger...
codes that allowed access to visitors in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, Russian, English and several other languages.