LA CRÍTICA SOCIAL I LA VISIBILITAT DE LA CULTURA CATALANA EN LA CARTELLÍSTICA D’ANTONI MIRÓ

Abstract

Ever since Antoni Miró (b. Alcoi, 1944) started his career in the late 1960s, his extensive artistic production led him to explore a wide range of fields, including painting, sculpture and pottery. For him, one of art’s functions is to serve society, and so in parallel to his regular production he also created posters meant to promote certain art-related events and to show his commitment toward celebrating and spreading culture.In this article we have analyzed several of Miró’s posters, in which he clearly shows his interest in making Catalan culture known in all its shapes and forms. His detailed, continued work is marked by civic references and by the social commitment of an artist who believes that intellectuals have the power to contribute to society and to persuade others. As we can clearly see in his posters, Miró used art to show that he was an independent thinker. Like other artists from his generation (born after Franco won the Civil War), Miró used historical references to express his beliefs. Art was his way to report a series of facts that he wanted viewers to learn from and become fully aware of.For these reasons, posters played a key role in the artist’s creative production during the 1970s, back when Spain was going through democratic recovery. His contribution to this new era, marked by a proud defense of one’s own culture, was key. Miró always stood up for his left-wing, progressive ideas with firm determination and openness, and civic commitment was at the heart of his artistic career at all times.