HAIKU DIALOGUE – Surrealistic Art – “Harlequin’s Carnival” – commentary

Surrealistic Art with Guest Editor Lafcadio

For the next few weeks I would like to be your docent in The Haiku Foundation museum. We will only have time to visit the surrealism gallery, which I’m sure will have enough inspiration for getting in touch with our subconscious mind and release its creative potential through the power of the irrational juxtaposition in these drawings and paintings.

First, we can discuss surrealism some to make sure we are all on the same page, or in the same room. Surrealism is an artistic movement that began in the early 20th century. Surrealistic painters created dreamlike and often inexplicable images. One of the major characteristics of this kind of painting is the comparison of unrelated entities and components. This creates a surprise for the viewer and hopefully carries them into a world of fantasy and symbolism. This technique of painting not only challenged traditional painting but was also a representation of the social and political upheavals of society after the trauma and disillusionment of World War I. Still, surrealistic painting is used today to transcend the boundaries of the ordinary and deliver us in the realm of extraordinary.

I can’t remember which came first for me…surrealistic poetry or surrealistic paintings. Either way I am firmly entrenched in surrealism and would love to see your responses to some of the surrealistic artwork. There is so much abstraction and symbolism in the drawings and paintings, I think there will be ample material to use in writing haiku and senryu.

Below is Lafcadio’s commentary for “Harlequin’s Carnival”:

this place
I could be part of it too …
transmigration journey

Deborah Karl-Brandt
Germany

I love that Deborah compares this painting to a journey. It is, of course, a journey into Joan Miró’s subconscious. Transmigration can be moving from one state of existence to another. This is exactly what Miró does from reality to the unconscious. Highly personal qualities are evident in his work that flow naturally into unselfconscious spontaneity accompanied by his own symbols and signs of his universe (which he called Constellations). But on the other hand, Miró was an artist of reason. He tried by attempt after attempt and effort after effort to communicate what he desired in a formulaic and systematic way. This dual methodology led to an enlargement and enrichment of his expression. He never lost his desire to experiment and understand the nature of reality in his paintings, but he also never allowed his intellect to stifle his imagination. Also, in another reference from Deborah’s poem, he became a part of the ‘place’ when arriving in France and meeting Picasso. This too was another kind of journey for Miró. He was introduced to surrealistic painting and poetry. He became extremely enthusiastic about the art scene. The move to Paris changed his views toward painting and provided new methods he was anxious to delve into along with the other surrealists. This is when Miró broke from painting realistic pictures and his work evolved to symbolic sign language. He also gave the painter Klee a lot of credit for impacting these changes. By observing Klee he began to see any shape could be the subject of a painting, not just the usual subjects of people, landscapes or buildings.

dream’s playroom
I reassemble
pieces of myself

Jackie Chou
United States

Jackie’s poem illustrates well the playfulness of Miró’s paintings. He lived in difficult periods of history. He arrived in Paris to avoid the Spanish Civil War. He was in France when the Nazis entered during World War II. He was not politically engaged but instead reacted to war by self-preservation through withdrawal. This kept Miró almost child-like as can be seen in his art. He was able to ‘reassemble’ himself from the disarray around him and maintain an appreciation for the world. He believed no matter what the external circumstances were, he could find respite in the wonder of nature. Despite fractured times, Miró maintained an orderly and methodical life. If you saw an exhibit of his work, you would see he reserved all his energies for painting instead of being distracted by war or other political events.

climbing a ladder
out of the chaos
the sun jumps over the moon

Sari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY, USA

As mentioned before, Miró began separating himself from figurative art and embracing surrealism. Many of his paintings repeat symbols and icons that represent experiences or feelings in Miró’s life. Even after the Spanish Civil War and escaping France during World War II, he returned to Spain where he was forced to live through a military dictatorship by keeping a low profile. Such events were difficult for such a sensitive artist, who suffered a lot and used his art to avoid reality. Sari has noticed one of his primary icons that represents his reality. Specifically, ladders of escape, like the one in “Harlequin’s Carnival,” are the Miró icon that expressed his need to escape from a world that is unbearable. In some paintings the ladders appear suspended in the air, or have eyes and feet attached or are supported by planets. The planets represented Miró’s wish to be taken to a dream world in order to avoid real life. In Miró’s paintings he often used eyes and feet because of their ability to keep you connected to reality. Feet are grounded to the earth and eyes are open to see what’s happening in the real world.

through the looking glass matisse’s blue

Katherine E Winnick
Brighton, UK

This poem by Katherine is jam-packed with allusion, ekphrasis and references. Pretty amazing for a 6-word monoku. First there is an allusion to Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. It is the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice again enters a fantasy world but this time through a mirror that reverses everything, including logic. This is like the room in Miró’s “Harlequin’s Carnival.” There things are illogical as well. I think Alice would be right at home in it. In addition to this allusion there is a reference to ‘matisse’s blue.’ It is well known that Matisse loved blue. Not the pale, baby blue of a background but a loud, punch-in-the-face kind of blue. The “Harlequin’s Carnival” has a window painted in a Matisse-like blue. There is also more of the blue inside the room. In Matisse’s painting, “The Blue Window,” he connects the outside with the inside. But Miró uses it more as a place of calmness for the eye to rest when the activity in the room becomes overwhelming. Thank you, Katherine!

high tea
Vivaldi plays through the cracks
in the universe

Joshua St. Claire
York County, Pennsylvania, USA

Miró was an artist who always had music playing in his studio. His grandson can remember entering his house and hearing music playing from the library where Miró secluded himself to read. He had a vast collection of records from Mozart to John Cage. Some of the record jackets were designed by Miró and mapped the music to the colors and energies of his paintings. Miró’s grandson felt music would expand a viewer’s appreciation of Miró’s art, making the viewer part of the piece. For a MoMA exhibition Miró’s grandson developed a playlist pairing pictures in the exhibit with some of Miró’s favorite musical compositions. Unfortunately, he did not include “Harlequin’s Carnival” in this playlist, but he did include “The Hunter (Catalan Landscape)” paired with Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons – Summer, Presto.” I listened to some Mardi Gras music and found the “Mardi Gras Mambo” recorded in 1954 by the Hawketts would be a perfect accompaniment to this painting. Does music ever inspire your writing? Maybe a future idea for Haiku Dialogue…writing a haiku to a specific piece of music. Thank you, Joshua, for adding audio to our haiku.

behind the
rhapsodic façade –
doleful mood

Sarang Bhand
Navi Mumbai, India

Sarang has noticed the ‘doleful mood’ of the harlequin. Everything seems like a ‘rhapsodic’ celebration except the harlequin’s sad face. We recognize the harlequin as the main character in the painting playing a guitar with the diamond-patterned shirt, mustache, beard, admiral’s hat, and pipe. The harlequin’s sad expression may be due to a hole in his stomach, which represents Miró’s own poverty and hunger at the time he painted the work. The details of this painting came to Miró during one of his ascetic food-deprived periods. It seems Miró lived like a monk at times because of his financial situation so that would probably also be imprinted in his unconscious and show up in his surrealistic paintings.

carnival chaos
through the window
a corner of calm

Jenny Shepherd
London, UK

Jenny also noticed the calm space in the corner. As we look outside there is such a different scene than in the room. There is the Matisse-blue sky, green and red trees and a strange symbol that could be the sun or the moon. Because we are not sure if it is the sun or the moon it gives us a sense of reversal when compared with the warm light of the room. The calm corner also represents Miró’s outer life. It has been said he lived like a monk. His studio had to be fastidiously clean with waxed floors and everything in its correct place. He could not paint unless he was alone, in silence and with ascetic discipline. He would sometimes visit his neighbor, André Masson, and describe his studio as a pigsty covered with an unbelievable clutter of papers, bottles, canvases, books and household objects. Jenny has provided us with a breath of composure before we return to more havoc.

beyond my range
the blue-winged bird
hits the high notes

Caroline Ridley-Duff
UK

Caroline has written strikingly about another one of Miró’s icons that is used in many of his paintings. To him birds connected reality and dreams because they could both touch the ground and fly. Most of Miró’s birds are found flying in the night sky. In this scene the birds are inside and music literally in the air to show how high the notes are. It is interesting that Miró first painted birds as a shape with wings and a beak, making it recognizable as a bird. As he simplified his symbols, eventually birds were more a trajectory line showing flight rather than a painting of the bird itself.

fact flat
the earth is in
on Miró’s canvas

Mark Gilbert
UK

I’m not sure if we would call this a haiku or an ukiah (haiku spelled backwards). Either way it is creative. There is a form of haiku that is written with 7 syllables, 5 syllables, and 7 syllables. This is different and no matter how many times I read it my mind straightens it out. It is perfect for this painting. Everything there is illogical, backwards, upside down and even impossible. If we approached this as Miró did his paintings, we could pare it down even further.

………………………………………………………………………………………flat
………………………………………………………………………………………earth
………………………………………………………………………………………Miró

When Miró’s art became more abstract there were various reactions: 1) People were confused and critical because shapes were not recognizable, and they couldn’t find any meaning. They thought there was no depth or skill. 2) Some enjoyed the childlike simplicity and connected his paintings to innocence. 3) Art critics and connoisseurs saw Miró as bold and innovative by creating an abstract visual language.

This also happens in writing haiku…thank you Mark for pushing the boundaries in the spirit of Miró.

deep space exploration into the starry mind

Diana Ming Jeong
Pasadena, CA, USA

As Diana says, Miró is exploring the ‘deep space’ of his unconscious mind. Stars and other sky elements are also symbols used frequently in Miró’s paintings. The night elements like stars and the moon represent dreaming. Miró’s artwork is often scattered with stars. He may draw childish 6-point stars with just lines crossing at the center. Or he may include more elaborate stars with precise boundaries. Or they may represent a person and so would have hair. For hair, Miró often drew just 3-4 straight lines coming from the top of the head. Sometimes he would combine stars and birds to make hybrid creatures. Planets were often used in his art to symbolize his desire to escape to a dream world. In “Harlequin’s Carnival” there is a green globe under the window that is Earth because Miró was obsessed with capturing the world’s attention. Maybe that is what he explored in his ‘starry mind,’ ways to dominate the Earth with his art.

confessions drip from your walrus moustache fat Tuesday

Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh India

Confessions of a guest editor: I love this poem, especially because of the ‘walrus moustache.’ I immediately thought of the Beatles and their nonsense song, “I Am the Walrus.” The lyrics are quite surreal, and John Lennon said they didn’t mean much of anything, but it’s still a fun song (which is what he wanted). I also thought of the poem by Lewis Carroll “The Walrus and the Carpenter” in the book Through the Looking-Glass. That too is a nonsense poem with a talking walrus and shoe-wearing oysters, but it also is a subtle critique on entitlement and greed. But back to Miró, the carnival he has painted is probably Mardi Gras, which is a French term that translates to Fat Tuesday. It is a time of celebration before Lent, which in the Catholic liturgical calendar is when fasting and suffering begins before Easter. And a time when confessions pour out to the priests. Arvinder has captured that night beautifully. Coo Coo Ka Choo.

funhouse mirror –
on the other side
reality shapeshifts

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA

I believe Valentina has given us an excellent description of “Harlequin’s Carnival.” The funhouse mirror changes the reflection. The unconscious mind changes reality into something quite different. We see hints and representations of reality but in a surreal adaptation by the painter. Miró said a lot of the characters in this painting were from hallucinations that his hunger produced in him. Some days he would come to his studio to paint and only had radishes to eat. A lot of the surrealists painted from their dreams, but Miró said his starvation often put him into a trance. In that state he would meditate about what he wanted to draw. And when he started to paint, he introduced the ‘shift’ away from reality that he felt was appropriate. He spoke of including the ladder, joyous animals and insects as he always had a deep interest in them.

harlequin
under the makeup smile
the frown we share

Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois

Bryan mentions the harlequin that is the central figure of this painting. Artists often used the harlequin to represent themselves. Miró learned of this from Pablo Picasso. He has painted himself as the harlequin with the colors and landscape of his native home of Catalonia, Spain. The harlequin was originally a character from commedia dell’arte. Commedia dell’arte is a theatrical form characterized by improvised dialogue and a cast of colorful stock characters that began in northern Italy in the fifteenth century and rapidly gained popularity throughout Europe. The harlequin was often portrayed as a comic valet who was superstitious, cowardly and often lacked money, food, and love. The harlequin often played the guitar in his performances, but in Miró’s painting he is the guitar. We can see the association with Miró as he was also lacking these things. With those difficulties it explains why he would be frowning.

painting class
looking for the right color
for the blackbird’s song

Cezar Ciobica
Romania

Synesthesia is a literary device that involves blending the senses to describe an object. For example, a poet might describe a dress as “loud” or a gaze as “chilly”. The unsettling association can give the reader a strong, poetic feeling. Cezar used synesthesia in this poem. What color would a blackbird’s song be?

Miró’s later paintings often featured vivid shades of red, green, yellow, and blue contrasted with bold black lines. His early works used more earth tones and pastels. He played with his canvases as well in diverse ways such as dropping turpentine to make splotches of color and create a sense of freedom. In the “Harlequin’s Carnival” he made use of black, white and russet. The harlequin, himself, is in bold primary colors. We can see how his colors add joy, playfulness, celebration and music to his painting.

Join us next week for our next prompt…

Guest Editor Lafcadio, a former teacher, now works from home writing, editing and proofreading study guides for nursing textbooks. She lives in Tennessee. She has written poetry for a long time but a couple of years ago fell in love with Japanese micropoetry and hasn’t looked back. Lafcadio has been published in a number of journals and anthologies. She writes under the nom de plume of Lafcadio because nom de plume is so fun to say. You can read her poems on Twitter (X) @lafcadiopoetry or Threads @lafcadio2.0

Lori Zajkowski is the Post Manager for Haiku Dialogue. A novice haiku poet, she lives in New York City.

Managing Editor Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada, and her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019). Find her at: kjmunro1560.wordpress.com.

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Banner photo credit: Lafcadio

Haiku Dialogue offers a triweekly prompt for practicing your haiku. Posts appear each Wednesday with a prompt or a selection of poems from a previous week.