Global warming in the contemporary art

The researcher in charge of the project “Fidel Micó Catalogue Raisonné” (FMCR) is pleased to announce findings from the study of a highly valuable (but little noted) artwork painted by Fidel Micó 14 years ago. The painting “Otra oportunidad” (100 x 120 cm, oil on canvas, 2003), finished in 2003, and rewarded at a local group exhibition in 2005, reveals innovative intentions that position him far beyond conservative aesthetic trends. The subject of the painting and the combination of genres are evidence of his vision on the future of the pictorial art. This is a highly complex composition, as much concerning to the subject as to abundance of symbolic elements with great artistic and humanistic value.

Undoubtedly, this artwork tells us a story with a persistent intention to attract the viewer’s attention to a dense academic exercise on the expected outcomes of climate changes (Washington Post, Dec 19, 2016). Transcendence of this painting invites to deep meditations and transparent debates on the evolution of the pictorial art during the last century, and the future of humankind in our current planet as consequence of global warming (New York Times, Dec 22, 2016, p. A4). Probably, the artist has always been aware that: “failing to engage with climate change, artists and writers are contributing to an impoverished sense of the world, right at the moment when art and literature are most needed to galvanize a grassroots movement in favor of climate justice and carbon mitigation” (Guardian, Dec 7, 2016).

In this painting, light and shadow have been placed according to a carefully planned intention, from the right foreground to the centre middle ground. Line, form, and colour coherently contribute to put emphasis on a serious warning message by giving right locations to objects that have been included in thousands of paintings for centuries without evident meaning. In addition to the first message, asking for protection of our deteriorated planet, Micó has endeavoured inviting to contemporary artists to represent their deepest feelings, without abandon the fight for surpassing the pictorial mastery that great masters deputed us as invaluable heritage, because this knowledge contains the universal access code to most people from different cultures, religions, ethnic groups, and levels of social inclusion.

The sight is immediately guided to the attention centre of the artwork: a human. It is here where the narrative starts masterly by a dry streamlet disappeared along with the surrounding biotic pump. This visual pathway also points into opposite direction, which is critical for understanding the message: from the human to the apple, on the right. The first run suggests what happened in the past, but the second one, implies future decisions that will depend on the human (Guardian, Dec 19, 2016). In spite of many branches coming from the leafless tree, on the left, could deviate the viewer’s attention, inviting him to abandon the painting, this doesn’t happen, which suggests that the artist’s intention has been facing the challenge of the viewer’s appraisal by using branches as instrument for measuring the expressive strength of the remaining elements.

In absence of repetitions, exaggerations, and imitations, the tonal scheme expresses the dominant felling: desolation and guilt. Worldwide interest on this subject is as much notorious as the demonstrated lack of will-power from those who could do something to avoid earth destruction (New York Times, Dec 22, 2016, p. A29). This artwork represents the extinction of the humankind as unavoidable, leaving, however, an open door to other opportunity (otra oportunidad) for humans to make more rational and less selfish decisions. There is not space for identity confusion in this canvas. In addition to the above mentioned compositional elements, a sand-glass and a small plant with two flowers, placed at the foreground, contribute to reinforce the emotional load, because the painted human has found hopes, but the time has gone for making the best decision. Diversity of line, spacing, tone, and colour become into reality an imaginary scenario, in spite of being undesirable for any human. The satisfactory relationship obtained between compartments is an additional evidence of the enormous effort inverted by Micó in the creation of a so scaring image as a vision of what will be our natural habitat if something doesn’t modify our current behaviour patterns (New York Times, Dec 14, 2016).

Contrary to expectation, the artist has worked on the high-key, as the dominant tone scale, maybe for suggesting hopes, but turning off colours from the middle ground to the background to highlight the dramatic nature of the painted place. Details simplifications have not been found, nor even in the background, where wide tones give unity and equilibrium to the subject. Harmony has been obtained by continuity, but repetition of line, rhythm, and cohesion of form, tone, and colour, were not excluded. Subject and emotive reaction are inextricably interconnected by chromatic schemes in every compartment of this painting. Micó has preferred a logical development of light, instead of light contrast, maybe, looking for representing authenticity, because there is a remarkable difference of brightness between the principal element and those placed in the background.

The development in-depth was not introduced according to traditional techniques of landscape painting. The left compartment of the middle ground was used to create a set of diagonal irregularities descending under the central elements placed in the foreground, which introduces a complex problem to be solved in pictorial terms. Little resistance is found by the viewer in search for the background, after that, the sight remains trapped inside the painted place without stumbling motivations to abandon this extraordinary artwork. Inventing a landscape, including conceptual proposals, is a serious challenge for any painter, because a huge amount of pictorial problems must be solved to represent the magnificence of a nature imagined by the artist.

Geometric analysis of paintings is similar to a resistance test, because it is a measure of the artist’s capacity to unfold nature’s beauty. The painting “Otra oportunidad” seems to be a notable example of intuitive allocation of the focal point: around the human over the floor, driving the viewer attention to the left background. A close and detailed observation allows finding important golden proportions (GM) and focal points. Three focal points were found around the kid over the floor, directing the attention to the depth of the message. Golden proportions were found between: i-) the heights of the kid and the tree (GM = 0.623), ii-) the diameters of the flower and the sand-glass (GM = 0.667), and iii-) the diameters of the first two branching off in the tree (GM = 0.667). This artwork was invented by the artist’s talent and imagination, which represents a strong argument in favour of the relevance of these findings.

Fidel Micó is not only a notable example of pictorial mastery, but also a great artist that rejects falsehood and dissimulations. Obviously, authenticity is essential for him, but it could also be argued that Micó is a conservative person representative of ancient aesthetic principles. On the contrary, this man is plain people, modest, and generous, with a great faith in humankind. Fame seems not to be a milestone for him, but feeling the pleasure of a finished painting is as important for Micó as breathing. At present, the painting “Otra oportunidad” remains in the collection of the artist (not for sale) as undeniable evidence for fine art scholars and appraisers.

The Fidel Micó Catalogue Raisonné (FMCR) should be understood as an applied research project intended to explore the work and life of the painter Fidel Micó in the last 40 years. This project, submitted to Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association and International Foundation for Art Research, may encourage current owners of Micó’s works (mostly from USA, Mexico, Italy, and Spain) to supply information and images for provenance research and authentication. We also hope that the FMCR shows a good sense of how Micó’s method and practice has been throughout his lifetime working in different formats, and genres.

Rodríguez Nº 14, entre Maboa y Rabí, apto. 1, Rpto. Santos Suárez, Municipio 10 de Octubre, La Habana, Cuba.

This release was published on openPR.