Church and the Village of Montroig 1919

Editor: So this is Joan Miró's "Church and the Village of Montroig," painted in 1919 using oil paints. It's a really striking landscape, but also quite geometric. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: I'm drawn to how Miró meticulously renders the physical world – the church, the village, even the farmer tending the land – through a lens that emphasizes the materiality of paint and the labor involved in both artistic creation and rural life. Notice the visible brushstrokes, the way he builds up layers of color. Editor: Yes, there's a clear sense of how it was made. But what’s the significance of that? Curator: Well, think about the social context. Post-World War I, there's a questioning of established hierarchies, even within art. By foregrounding the means of production, Miró democratizes the artistic process. It's no longer about idealized representation but about the physical act of making and how the materials themselves contribute meaning. We see art not just as a reflection of the world, but as a product of labor. Editor: So, you're saying he elevates the status of the manual labor through his artistic rendering? Curator: Exactly. And in doing so, he challenges the traditional separation between “high art” and the everyday labor of the working class. The very act of painting, of applying oil to canvas, becomes a form of labor parallel to the farmer's toil in the fields. What do you think about the color choices in light of that perspective? Editor: It's interesting to consider the colours in that light, seeing the earthiness but also these vibrant almost unnatural hues mixed in. I see now how all these choices highlight process, labor, and material reality. Curator: Precisely. Hopefully you’ll see now that even the means to deliver meaning is equally if not more important. Editor: I definitely do! I appreciate your perspective.