10/2/15 · Institutional

Joan Miró Foundation and UOC launch first MOOC on artist

The Miró Chair, a joint project by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and Barcelona's Joan Miró Foundation, is set to start the first MOOC on the artist on Wednesday, 7 October. The course, "Joan Miró: an Artist Who Defined a Century", funded by the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Catalan Ministry Economy and Knowledge, "addresses the seminal role Miró played as a Catalan artist who achieved international fame", explains Robert Lubar, director of the Miró Chair and the UOC's postgraduate course in Miró Studies.

The aim of this MOOC is to provide the essential interpretative keys to evaluate critically the various aesthetic, artistic and ideological aspects of Miró's work, not only in relation to the native cultural traditions within which it was formed, but also in relation to the multivalent artistic currents to which Miró responded.

In order to bring Miró and his artistic language to wider public attentions, the course comprises five thematic areas:

  • The introductory module takes a wide-angle view to examine the richness and technical diversity of Miró's work across mediums, from his earliest experiments in painting to his late expressionistic style. It also examines his artistic formation in Barcelona and his relationship to the Catalan cultural establishment.
  • The first module focuses on Miró's deep commitment to the land and his native Catalonia and on his spiritual affinity with the Tarragona countryside. It also explores the artist's political position and activism in relation to social movements at home and abroad.
  • The second module chronicles Miró's dialogue with poets and writers of the Catalan and French avant-gardes and his corresponding development, in the mid-nineteen twenties, of a language of visual signs that would comprise his mature vocabulary. His interest in calligraphy and Japanese tradition is also discussed in this context.
  • The third module examines Miró's technical proficiency and innovative work in mediums ranging from drawing, collage and oil on canvas to sculpture, graphics, ceramics and tapestries. This module also explores his working processes, from initial conception to the final realization of individual works.
  • The fourth and last module locates Miró as a driving force in the development of 20th-century art, from his breakthrough biomorphism while working alongside the French surrealists, to his considerable influence on painters in the emergent New York School, such as Arshille Gorky and Jackson Pollock.

This free four-week course, hosted on the Miríadax platform, is designed for people who wish to deepen their knowledge of art history with a special emphasis on Joan Miró and modern art. Aimed at the general public as well as specialists in the Humanities, Fine Arts, History of Art and the Art Market, it consists of audiovisual material in ten instalments lasting around five minutes each, in English with Spanish subtitles. There will be a multiple-choice test on each video so that students can evaluate their progress and comprehension of the course materials. This innovative course is one of the many activities designed to mark the UOC's 20th anniversary.

At the end of the course, students who have successfully completed at least 75% of the modules will receive a free Certificate of Participation. Those who get 100% in all modules are entitled to an additional Completion Certificate – upon request and payment of 40 euros including taxes.


The Miró Chair, a pioneering initiative

The Miró Chair is a joint project by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and Barcelona's Joan Miró Foundation. A pioneering initiative that maintains and extends the Foundation's fundamental goals: to study and promote the art of Joan Miró within the local Catalan context and in relation to international cultural developments. In the spirit of rigorous scholarship and cultural awareness, the Miró Chair uses new information and communication technologies to advance this agenda.

The guiding principles of the Miró Chair are teaching, research and cultural diffusion. Along these lines, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya offers postgraduate course of high academic standing that culminates in a diploma in Miró Studies. Designed by a group of internationally acclaimed Miró experts, the course examines the artist's work within the broad historical, cultural and social context in which it developed.


Proven experience in MOOCs

The UOC has proven experience in massive open online courses. Along with other institutions, it has shared a variety of content in this format, in courses such as: HandsON, teacher development in designing ICT-based learning activities, Introduction to Business Intelligence, Tandem MOOC (SpeakApps), to improve Spanish and English, and ePortfolio Self-development Study, to learn to create and manage and online space to gather evidence of the skills acquired by a person over a period of time.

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