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Dear Artist,

 

Line and Contrast are two major players that artists need to consider with every piece. Because of this we must keep discussing them a little longer. Line and Contrast have too much power to just be glanced over in one letter. Let’s look at "Hirondelle Amour" by Joan Miró and see what jumps out as significant before my thoughts skew your personal interaction with this piece here.

 

What did you see? Where does your eye gaze hang? What have you just experienced?

 

For me it is Contrast that first pulls me in. It is enchanting with the limbs and leg shapes immerging from the white areas that first caught my attention. How did you experience this sensation? Was there struggle or playfulness in the limbs?

 

Line then takes over, with even more powerful pulling attention from the red shape of the heel into the smooth linear strokes. The elongated lettering provides just enough emphasis to hold my attention long enough to read the letters. Familiar, but not totally understood, I still like the way I feel glancing over these characters.

 

Subtly, Contrast grabs ahold of the wheel once again and makes me see a face, a demon, an animal, or none of it, in the bottom left hand corner. Forcing Line to gently takes a back my attention as the eyebrow and front hair strokes now appear.

 

What a beautiful experience of discovery—and we are not even done yet! There is so much more to this picture. Shape begins to sing and Miró’s playful imagery is alive with movement and song. Isn’t it put together so well?

 

How can one feel lonely or sad while experiencing this picture? Art such as this Miró piece can make “the dulls of life” escape into the burrows of its canvas. Research has revealed that people who view artwork live longer happier lives. My advice is to go see a Joan Miró painting in real life and live a little better.

 

Line and Contrast look good together,

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Uncle Salvador