The bronze piece on the front is textured or hammered, too, adding another depth of pattern and texture to the work. There is not a lot of intricate detail on the piece, but for some reason it seems detailed, anyway, perhaps because of the size of the piece.
Because this is a three-dimensional work, there is a feeling of space and depth to the piece, too. In fact, the figure seems to be frozen in a moment in time, and commands the space around it. The bronze "shield" on the front in concave, and so gives additional depth and a three-dimensional quality to the piece, and so does the hole in one of the legs. This is not a massive sculpture, but it seems larger than it is because of the use of space and depth to create a fuller, more complete piece of art.
The artist definitely wanted to convey a childlike quality in this piece. It seems Picasso may have been an influence on this artist, and he himself once said, "Form for me is never something abstract,' Mir once said. 'It is always a token of something....'" (Danto). This particular form...
It has its own form of emotion, which makes it even more arresting to the viewer.
Frankly, when I first looked at this piece I thought it was ugly. I am not a particular fan of most modern art, and this resembled a bug or a beast more than it resembled a person. After learning more about the artist and his art, I understood that it is supposed to represent the art of children, and that helped it make a little more sense. I cannot say that I like the piece, but I have a better understanding of what the artist was attempting, and why he created such a unique piece of sculpture.
References
Danto, Arthur. "Joan Mir." Artchive.com. 2006. 14 Oct. 2006. http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/miro.html
Mir, Joan. "Woman Addressing the Public: Project for a Monument." Kimball Art Museum. 2006. 14 Oct. 2006. http://www.kimbellart.org/database/index.cfm?detail=yes&ID=AP%201996.01
