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Published: August 19th 2006
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Salvador Dali: eccentric, controversial, bizzare
"A diferenca entre mim e um louco, eh que eu nao sou louco" Hello friends
While in Saint Petersburg, one of the beach towns on the Florida Golf coast, I had an incredible time getting to know the work of the great Spanish artist Salvador Dali. The Dali museum displays the most comprehensive private collection of his work in the world. Hundreds of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and writings of one of the most important painters of the 20th century. Why Dali in Florida? An american couple, very good friend's of Dali, spent 40 years collecting hundreds of his art work, and with the support of Florida opened the museum. Salvador Dali escaped to the US during the WWII.
What an eccentric and controversial painter, sculptor, photographer, that fellow was! He described himself in peculiar ways: "The difference between me and a mad man is that I am not mad", "I am a liar who always tells the truth" and said that "Everything affects me, nothing changes me".
Best known for his surrealist works, with striking and bizarre images he expressed his subconscious mind. I am particularly drawn to his works expressing time/memory, like the "melting watch", witch depicts the persistence of memory and suggests that time is relative and not rigid.
The Persistence of Memory by Dali
The soft watches represent time as less rigid,relative, not as fixed... (see pictures of the painting).
His work was influenced by Freud, Einstein, Garcia Lorca, and many more. He mixed religion, politics, science and technology, sometimes on a single painting. There were some enourmous, truly gigantic paintings, one of witch was called "Galacidalacidesoxyribunucleicacid" (it's true, I copied the name), combining angels, the DNA molecule and a tragic flash flood in Barcelona, to symbolize birth, death, rebirth and "the genetical persistence of human memory".!!!
It was very interesting hearing people, sometimes friends, couples, or parents with their children, discuss a certain painting, trying to guess what Dali was expressing with his often distorted, morphed, mixed images. Psychology can also be deeply explored if one spends the time analysing his fantastic ways of expression.
I highly recommend a visit to the museum for anyone intrested in art, but also for those fascinated by the human mind, and how it expresses itself in diverse ways.
At the end of the day, nothing like going to the beach to see the work of art as painted by nature: a beautiful SUNSET.
What a pleasant surprise: as we approched the beach, we could hear amazing music which I could swear was
Gala & Lincoln: huge Oil by Dali
Dali's wife, Gala, was the subject of many of his paintings.On this, president Lincoln can also be seen. Brazilian samba. There was a huge circle of people and I thought it was a "capoeira" roda (circle). Getting to the site of the action, I found no Brazilains, except for a couple of expectators, but an interesting diverse crowd, to say the least. Drums and drummers of all sorts and some curious fellows dancing. The crowd watching was diverse itself: from kids to old folks. The vibe of the music blended well with the calm ocean down the beach, the red-sunset, and the lighting display far in the opposite side of the sky.
As we left, almost 10 at night, the music still played, the sky still displayed incredible beauty, and I still thought about Dali's melting clock, the concept of time, distance, and memory. I thought of you, my friends, who inhabit my heart, wherever you are, dispite time and distance.
Com um beijo,
Patricia
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Patricia Somewhere
Patricia MC
Hello Katia & Roger
Thanks for the always positive comments. It's great being in touch with you guys. Beijos, Patricia