In few situations, or almost none, one could imagine looking at a painting with their head upside down and barefoot. Probably, it is not the most optimal posture to appreciate the artist's strokes and try to decipher the message they wanted to convey. But, if one finds themselves doing yoga, the diagnosis may change. The Joan Miró Foundation wanted its canvases to dialogue with a practice characterized by being physical, mental and, above all, spiritual, like the Barcelona artist. "It flows very well, it's a natural link with Miró," says Laura Rodríguez, organizer of the first yoga cycle at the museum. The typical oms invade the rooms, full of mats and canteens and with sneakers on the wall, pronounced by a new profile of artistic spectator, armed with comfortable clothes and in socks.
The Miró Foundation has thus wanted to open up to new audiences, demonstrating that a museum is not a hermetic box in which there are paintings waiting to be contemplated, one of the mantras that its director, Marko Daniel, wants to dethrone. The works can be felt in a different way, stretching, lying down, even sweating.
In addition to the proximity that Miró may not have imagined he could have with yoga, the activity proposed by his foundation is not very common in local museums. The organizers explain that it is done, for example, in some distant ones such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), both in New York, but they do not know of a closer alternative.
The cycle, consisting of 16 sessions that began in November and run until this February, has been designed with the supervision of Supernova, relying on teachers from different disciplines, from the popular and media-friendly vinyasa yoga to less known ones such as kirtan or iyengar. Even trauma-sensitive yoga sessions have been scheduled. The aim was to reach different practitioners and provide an incentive to climb Montjuïc mountain, beyond standing upside down surrounded by paintings. For now, with absolute full houses every day, it seems they have convinced many. The classes, which start at 6 p.m. and last an hour and a half, cost 12 euros per session, with a reduced price for Friends of the Joan Miró Foundation.
Before getting into the subject, a Miró painting is explained, chosen according to the variety of yoga to be practiced. If it's iyengar yoga, it begins with one of his first works, Mont-roig, the church and the village, taking into account that it is a very detailed one, like the variety of yoga in question, which seeks precision in postures, asanas for regulars.
And it is also very earthy, anchoring the feet firmly on the ground, becoming aware of all the toes they have and trying to make each one have the same strength. Precisely, the chosen painting starts from the painter's vital landscape, with a lot of earth, with roots and trees that will then have to be imitated in class. One can even understand the different states of yoga, from the physical, the field, to the spiritual, the church.
Once the concept is understood, it's time to put it into practice. From the ground, becoming aware of the supports, to gradually rise, even daring with tightrope walker asanas. In the end, one has to go upside down and look at Personaje delante del sol, El oro del azur, La esperanza del condenado a muerte I, II, III or Payés catalán en el claro de luna from a new perspective, without losing concentration and without falling, in addition to noticing how the arms and legs become heavier and heavier. Seen from the outside, it seems that the yogis create Miró stars with their impossible postures.