 |
| Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubist) |
 |
| The Basket of Bread |
He spent his life as a radical, disruptive, innovative and
brilliantly extravagant artist. His life style was equal parts showman and
creative genius. Many thought him mad but he was crazy in the best of ways;
“like the proverbial fox.” You might think that such a man in death would be
quietly at peace…not the surrealist master; Dali! His body was exhumed just
this past Thursday (his famous mustache remaining gloriously intact.) It seems
a sixty plus year old woman believes she is Dali’s child. She is looking to be compensated;
hoping to find a DNA match. The Great Salvador Dali continues to stir up the
world, even in death he rises.
Pardon me for changing gears to a point; but my original
intention for this blog was to make note of the of the man’s religiosity as
expressed in his art, particularly in his paintings. He excelled in his efforts
like no other of his generation. There were others including Marc Chagall, Emil
Nolde and Stanly Spencer that painted Christian themes among their works, yet
Dali achieved a power that remains unmatched.
 |
| The Dream of Christopher Columbus |
His painting’s subjects and themes include The Crucifixion
of Christ; The Holy Virgin, The Madonna and Child, The Last Supper and even the
religious zeal of Christopher Columbus. Dali’s work “Basket of Bread” was
considered in his mind to be his most surrealistic endeavor. It spoke to the
Eucharistic as expressed in The Holy Communion. Life as journey is allegorically
viewed in his painting “Phantom Chariot” the message is akin to John Bunyan’s
“Pilgrim’s Progress.” Again; his
crucifixions were literal and technical interpretations of the event of Jesus’
death and subsequent resurrection. These works; as masterful and as great as
any from time immemorial.
 |
| Phantom Chariot |
The Old Testament’s Book of Ecclesiastes 3 talks about the
importance of time as it unfolds within the span of our human life and physical
existence. It states there is a time and a season for every activity under the
heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
 |
| Melting Clock |
Dali first addressed the passage of time in one of his highly
referenced and signature works “The Persistence of Memory.” Among the most
striking elements of the piece is the inclusion of the melting, lilting clocks
and watches. These can likely be viewed as an interpretation of the temporal,
declining nature of life. When asked about their meaning Dali replied “…the
soft watches were inspired by the surrealist perception of a Camembert (cheese)
melting in the sun. Life is as much as anything a series and process of gradual
and eventual decay and finality. Dali would return to images of “melting clocks”
on numerous occasions as surreal expressions along with other multiple symbolic
imagery.
 |
| Christ of St. John of the Cross |
Salvador Dali continues to amaze and inform as we discover
freshness to his life and works. We await his latest verdict as we applaud his
grand visionary performances. The Magnificent Dali; the Eternal Dali, the
Servant Dali.
Salvador Dali Quotes
“Have no fear of
perfection - you'll never reach it.”
“A true artist is not
one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.”
“Surrealism is
destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our
vision.”
“Every morning when I
wake up, I experience an exquisite joy —the joy of being Salvador Dalí— and I
ask myself in rapture: What wonderful things is this Salvador Dalí going to
accomplish today?”
