2nd Grade: Lesson 6 (May) Art Masterpiece: People and Dog in Sun (1949) by
Joan Miró
Pronounced: Hwan Mee-RO
Keywords: Abstract. Color, Line, Shape, Modernism, Surrealism
Activity: Abstract Figure on a Grid
Meet the Artist:
• Joan Miró was born in Spain in 1893. Miró literally means “he looked.”
• His father was a goldsmith who wanted his son to be a bookkeeper.
• Joan hated having a job in a business office, so his father finally sent him
to art school in Barcelona.
• He finished art school in 1919. Afterwards, he met famous artists like
Pablo Picasso. His works started out being surrealistic, but became more
abstract over time.
2nd Grade: Lesson 6 (May) • Throughout his life, Joan felt a deep connection to his Spanish heritage
His painting was greatly influenced by the color and the life of his
homeland. Rich, dark colors, and delicate lines demonstrate this heritage.
• Following his first exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City
in 1941, Miró achieved international acclaim. This was quite unusual
because most famous artists do not achieve this status until after they
have died! Miró is recognized as a pioneer of Modernism.
• Miró is best known for a style where his vibrant canvases seemed to
transport the viewer to alien worlds inhabited by all manner of whimsical
creatures. His works use brilliant pure color and exhibit playful
juxtaposition of delicate lines with abstract, often amoebic shapes.
• He lived a rather normal and long life, dying at the old age of 90 in 1983.
Definitions:
• Abstract – form of art that focuses on color, line, shape, imagination, and
form.
• Color - an element of art. The hue, value and intensity of an object.
• Line - an element of art, a continuous path of a point as it moves across a
surface. A line can vary in length, width, direction, curvature or color.
• Shape- an element of art. The outline, edge or flat surface of a form.
• Modernism - an art movement characterized by the deliberate departure
from tradition and the use of innovative forms of expression.
Characteristics of modernism include:
o expressing feelings, ideas, fantasies and dreams instead of the
visual world we see; creating abstractions, rather than representing
what is real;
o a rejection of naturalistic color; the use of choppy, clearly visible
brushstrokes;
o the acceptance of line, form, and color as valid subject matter by
themselves.
o The modern period is followed by the period we are now in, the PostModern Period.
2nd Grade: Lesson 6 (May) • Surrealism - Paintings were generally based on dreams. Their paintings
were filled with familiar objects that were painted to look strange or
mysterious. They hoped their odd paintings would make people look at
things in a different way.
Possible Questions:
• What colors do you see? Are they mainly primary colors (red, yellow, blue)
or secondary colors (purple, orange, green)?
• Where is the contrast? (The background has light colors, not bold like the
foreground.)
• Describe what you see. Turn the painting upside down and sideways. See
which way the students like it best.
• Do you see people? Do they look like kids or adults?
• Where is the dog? Where is the sun?
• One dot is half red and half black; who can find it?
• Did Miró have a good imagination? What would you title this painting?
• Explain the concept of a “grid” to the students (lines crossing in a
systematic pattern).
Activity: Abstract Figure on a Grid
Project Description:
1) Pass out white drawing paper (or cardstock) with gridlines copied onto it.
Have students write their names on the back. Explain that the students
will be drawing some sort of creature. It can be a person, alien, animal,
etc. Space or sea creatures are especially fun.
2) Using pencil, lightly sketch a picture over grids on paper, having them
take up as much of the paper as they can (draw BIG and SIMPLY). Have
them start by drawing the head. It can be round, triangle, oval, square,
whatever they like. Then they can draw the body. It can also be any
shape, long, fat, etc. Add arms and legs, a face, hands, feet, hair, etc.
Squiggles for arms and antennae make fun alien creatures. Fins, tentacles,
spikes make fun sea creatures. Show them some examples on the board.
2nd Grade: Lesson 6 (May) 3) Next, fill in the empty spaces on either side of their Miró character with
geometric shapes, stars, planets, spaceships, sea life, plants, flowers, etc.
Once again, BIG and SIMPLE objects are better for coloring than small
and detailed objects.
4) After sketching is complete, pass out the black Sharpie markers and have
the students outline their creature and surrounding designs with black
marker. Do not use the black marker to color in anything (only for
outlining). Collect the black Sharpie markers so they don’t get mixed
in with the other markers, and so they don’t get used for coloring.
5) Pass out the colored markers. Using examples, show students that they
will be using the markers to color their drawings, but can only color one
section of the grid at a time. They should change color in every "enclosed"
area, meaning that they will change colors whenever they come to a line
(any line, whether it is a line of the grid, or a line they drew as part
of their drawing). They should try to mix colors up so they do not have
the same color side by side. Be sure to color the entire character and
surrounding designs.
6) Collect markers. Please make sure to discard any markers that are too dry
to be useful.
Materials Needed:
• White 9 x 12-inch drawing paper (or 8.5 x 11-inch cardstock) with
widely spaced gridlines copied onto it
• Pencils
• Black Sharpie markers (for outlining only)
• Colored markers
2nd Grade: Lesson 6 (May) Artwork Examples: