The epic of the antihero

Homer, in his epic songs of the Iliad and the Odyssey, consecrates the figures of the heroes Paris, Hector, Ajax or Ulysses, and the cultural and literary tradition instrumentalizes them to elevate them to referential category, already from the classical era, and consented as the great poems of Ancient Greece. The behaviour of the heroes is exemplary, and their value could be established in the principles of a real and lasting cosmogony. The hero achieves the benefits of glory by the wonder of his actions, by the courage shown on the battlefield, and by the nobility of his character and feelings. As much as for the extreme defense of the interests of his people, as well as his particular secrets.

In painting, even in all the creative work of the artist Antoni Miró, there is an inversion of the categories included in the songs of the great poet Homer. The character of the anti-hero appears with all his expressive force, and no longer dressed in the finery of triumph or glory to resemble the gods. Now it is about giving visibility to the anonymous hero, since they include it in the hagiologies of existence. The "poor", the ulcerated, the persecuted, the silenced, the condemned and the forgotten of the alienated societies, after so much merciless hedonism, come to life, and reappear in the immense geography of the painter's work. The anti-hero is exemplary from his silent scream when he inhabits the canvases of a painting by Antoni Miró. The irony twists to illustrate that the fantasy of a story is not at odds with the defence of legitimate humanity. The anti-heroes are them, they are ours, they are the soldiers of a combat that is fought, every day, still in these moments, in every corner of the world.

The Homeric epic songs exude glories and passions. The paintings of Antoni Miró, the proposals of so many series also, already considered ideals of reference, emerge with the devastating force of the evidence, and propose us to delve into the very essence of the human condition. It is a challenge, but also a possibility to continue growing.

Josep Sou