About 10 years ago, the MADI Museum opened here in Dallas, and I had no idea what MADI was. Madi? That’s not a thing, is it? Turns out it is. Have you ever heard of MADI? It’s a little-known 20th-century art movement out of Argentina.
Yesterday, I showed my girls some MADI art, and we did an art project inspired by this colorful and bold artwork. Here’s how it went.
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What is MADI?
MADI is an art movement founded in Buenos Aires in 1946 by Hungarian-Argentinian artist and poet Gyula Kosice, and Uruguayans Carmelo Arden Quin and Rhod Rothfuss. MADI art is geometric and non-representational paintings and sculptures. It has either bold, bright colors or neutral colors.
While the style originated in Argentina, artists around the globe have embraced the style. The MADI Museum has many artworks from Italian and American artists (and many more places) in addition to the many artists from South America. Take a look at the collection of The Museum of Geometric and MADI Art at this link to see some other examples of MADI art.
How to Look at MADI Art with Kids
We had plans to visit the MADI Museum in Dallas, but my daughter had a fever, so we stayed home. I’m hoping to take the girls soon. I think they would like it.
Instead, I opened up this page from the MADI Museum’s website and looked at all of the art at once. I asked them what do these artworks have in common? What do you see a lot of?
My first-grader and preschooler loved the MADI art. They were intrigued by the bright colors and shapes. We simply talked about the shapes and colors that we saw. We pointed out the patterns.
We each picked out favorite works from the page, took a closer look by clicking on the image, and talked about why we liked them.
Paper Sculpture MADI Art Project
We got out the construction paper and practiced drawing geometric shapes. With my 3yo, I drew some shapes and she traced and copied them. With my 6yo, I taught her how to use a ruler to draw a straight line.
We cut some long strips of paper (great scissor skills practice for the little one!) and accordion-folded some of them. We also made some tubes of paper to form as a base for some of the other stuff we made.
After cutting shapes and strips, we used tape to make three-dimensional paper shapes which we then taped to a circle piece of cardboard to make a sculpture.
It was great fun! Well, the three-year-old was totally into it even though she needed some extra help. The 6yo still had a touch of the fever, so she lost interest and went to lay down on the couch after a while. Poor bug.
