Chevauchée 1969

Editor: So, this is Joan Miró's "Chevauchée" from 1969, made with acrylic paint. The royal blue is really striking, and then there are these gestural lines in white, ochre, and brown. I can't help but feel like I am looking at some sort of abstracted face or figure… What elements stand out to you? Curator: Considering the year, 1969, and the artistic context of the late 20th century, I am interested in how Miró utilized readily available, synthetic acrylic paints. Look at the materiality itself— how does this contrast with, say, traditional oil painting or earlier artistic practices bound by natural pigments? Editor: Well, I imagine acrylic allowed for faster drying times and perhaps a more immediate, less labored process. Does the choice of material relate to any broader social changes? Curator: Absolutely. Acrylics came to prominence during a period of mass production and consumerism. These fast-drying, vibrant paints mirrored the speed and intensity of post-war culture. Consider how Miró embraced industrial production; are we witnessing a democratizing force within the art world? Does it level the playing field by opening up the process to other creators, outside traditional art world infrastructures? Editor: That's a good point. The materials make the creation faster and that can reflect a desire to keep pace with that late 20th-century feel you are speaking about. Curator: Exactly! The accessibility of acrylic paints breaks down previous conventions, as mass-produced materials democratized the making of art, moving us away from the more restrictive systems of the past, and opening to questions of labor, skill and training in the art world. So what would be gained or lost from that? Editor: That reframing is really helpful. I had never thought of it that way. Now I see it more as a snapshot of a changing world. Thanks! Curator: And I, for one, will rethink my assumption that only 'old' masters create true art.