El somriure au peu de l’escala 1970

Curator: Let's examine Joan Miró's 1970 work, "El somriure au peu de l’escala," or "The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder." It's an acrylic painting and certainly quite captivating in its abstract form. Editor: Yes, the painting definitely draws you in with its bold colors and simple shapes. It feels almost childlike, in a way, yet the composition is so deliberate. How do you interpret this work, especially considering Miró's style of surrealism? Curator: Well, considering the materials first – acrylic paint allowed for those vibrant, flat colours we see here. Note how Miró layers them, almost haphazardly. And that title…It points to Henry Miller, specifically Miller's text also titled "The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder" first published around 1948. Miller worked extensively with the means of textual reproduction to proliferate new forms of creative freedom, using commercial print to disrupt the 'serious' world of modernist fiction. What kind of labor, materiality and production does Miro invoke here by taking on the abstract expressionist format of 'pure painting' and referencing Miller in the process? Editor: That’s an interesting perspective. I hadn’t considered how the very act of painting and using these materials relates to this gesture toward print publication. So you are seeing this as kind of social statement via his painting methods? Curator: Exactly. The seemingly simple application of paint, almost industrial, becomes a key element in understanding Miró's statement. The commercialisation of artistic production, especially when it leans on existing avant-garde projects, becomes quite central here. Editor: So, it is a bit more complex and less playful than it appears. Curator: Precisely. The material reality speaks volumes about the artist’s engagement with contemporary culture and its mechanisms of creation and distribution. Editor: This has definitely given me a new way of thinking about Miró and modern art! Thank you. Curator: It's fascinating how an attention to materials and context opens up new pathways for interpreting even the most abstract works, don’t you think?