By Alice Lu
Clocks lying fluidly like melting pancakes on a rigid foundation. A huge red flaming couch that looks like a woman’s least favorite wig. A grand piano under the twilight zone waiting to be played. Sound familiar? It’s one of Dali’s most famous surrealist works, which appears in your high school history textbook. And the pancake clock has become a classic symbol of modern fine art. So who is Dali anyway? Born in 1904 in the small town of Figueres, Spain, Salvador Dali was the only young male in a female-dominated family. In order to upset his father Dali deliberately wet the bed until the age of eight, when he found that he could upset him more by bad behavior at school. But his talent of painting was soon discovered by his father and was sent to Madrid Fine Art School. In 1926, his first one-man show was held in Barcelona. “ I am the genius the world is about to know.” He said. Dali was greatly influenced by Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams. He tried setting up his canvas beside the bed to paint before sleeping and upon rising to capture subconscious imagery. Around 1930, Dali became the leader of the Surrealistic Movement. His painting, Persistence of Memory, is probably the most recognized surrealist painting in the world. His fame continued to grow based on his flair for publicity, clothing, costumes, shop interiors, stage sets, book illustrations and designs for jewelry. That’s not all, this incredibly versatile man also writes. His writings include poetry, fiction and a controversial autobiography, “The Secret Life of Salvador Dali”. He died in 1989 and was buried in his museum in Figueres. When I heard Dali’s exhibition is coming to Taipei at Palace Museum, I thought it’s going to catch public’s attention like one of those penguins in the zoo. I assumed that I have to wait hours in the line before getting in from my previous experience. But to my surprise, nobody I knew was talking about the exhibition. And when I showed up at Palace Museum 10am sharp, no line was blocking my way towards the ticket window. In fact I was one of the earliest who got there. I rented an audio guide to help me understand because Dali likes to use the techniques of double images, hidden appearances, and counter appearances. There is one time I came across a picture of a pregnant lady while my friend insisted that it’s an ugly old man. I know we’re both right, it’s just one of Dali’s little tricks he played. And another time we were told to stand 10 feet away from the frame in order to see a portrait of President Lincoln. Certain images were also repeated in many of his paintings, such as eyes, bones, blood, crutches, clouds, soft bodies, and soft objects. Each of them represents a different meaning. The crutch is the significance of life and death and a support for inadequacy in life. The boneless body is reminding us set our imagination and spirit free. But some of the other work he did is merely strange combinations of livings and objects, which will never occur in real life. But isn’t it what dreams are like? They are not meant to be explained. They are our feelings and desires that creep out only at night. Most people can’t remember their dreams as they wake up, but not this crazy guy. He spent his whole life figuring out his subconscious honestly after realizing science and logic are too simple to explain the complexity of life.” The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad.” This is how Dali describes himself when people claim his is insane. Is he really a mad guy? Is he too modern for his time? I read his paintings carefully at Palace Museum and my answer is definitely “No”. In fact, “He is a real genius!” #Volume 6 Issue 3 a
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May 2024
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