Dali
Lot's going on here -- I forget to write about the important stuff, sometimes, and get distracted.
For example, a few weeks ago Doug and I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and saw the Salvador Dali show -- it was so incredibly inspiring and formidable. I was saturated with information when we left. It also makes me feel pretty elite -- like I know something. In fact they extended the time frame that the show was running because it was doing so well, tickets sold out on the extension but my honey got them in time. I really was fortunate to get to go see that because the exhibit culled pieces from several different museums and I may be wrong but not far from right in saying that I think it was the only North American showing of this exhibit.
Interestingly enough the Met was doing an exhibit on Max Ernst around the same time as the Dali exhibit. If I were a true devotee I would have made it up there, too. I am not. I think I'm still processing information from the Dali exhibit. We bought a print -- nothing like "Soft Construction with Boiled Beans" but one of his earlier works... I was also impressed with some of his later stuff.
Some things I took away --
1. Dali's approach to surrealism was truer, I think, than Ernst or a predecessor DiChirico, he was a realist painter, who painted his dreams with the same kind of clarity one might approach a portrait or a still life. I love this about his work, and it disturbs me to know there was someone running around with that kind of detail in his head. He did a still life -- bread in a basket blahdiblah that looked like a photo.
2. Dali had deep-seated woman issues. (who doesn't tricky critters that we are) But now I know that the women in his portraits are not random the two most used were his sister (who is in the print we bought) and his wife Gala.
3. If I ever think Doug is crazy refer to Dali's obsession with Millet's painting "The Angelus" He took his interpretation so incredibly far. In overview, he was convinced that rather than being a pastoral painting of two peasants, head's bowed in prayer, pausing in their work to do so -- he saw the woman as a praying mantis prepared to eat the man's head after coitus AND the man is into that (notice his hat over his private area -- according to Dali, he is hiding an erection)
4. Many of his painting feature a crutch of some sort holding something up. Basically most items being propped up by this crutch were elongate, disproportionate, or phallic. I don't have the quote exactly but Dali visualized them supporting the government (Spanish civil war) wanted to give them a sizeable kick and see what would happen.
This prop is a relic from Dali's childhood -- as explained in part by this quote from http://www.doubletakeart.com states "Quite by accident, Pitchot provided a prop that would serve Dali for most of his artistic life, when the young painter came across a crutch during his exploration of Pitchot's attic. " Further, from the audio tour of the exhibit, apparently he used this prop to poke and prod and otherwise torment a girl he was fond of at that time -- so you see it as a sexual extension of sorts. There are many ideas of the representation of the crutch -- due to the often sexual nature of Dali's work and his Freudian perspectives I'm going with the first.
From http://www.countyhallgallery.com their symbol glossary of Dali's work states "The crutch is one of Dali’s most important images and features in many of his works. It is first and foremost a symbol of reality and an anchor in the ground of the real world, providing spiritual and physical support for inadequacy in life. The crutch is also the symbol of tradition, upholding essential human values." I believe this to be bunk, as a generalization, much the same way archetypes in dream analyzation are often bunk. In fact, since so much of Dali's inspiration is from dreams, then I will stand firmly in my conviction. A cigar may just be a cigar, unless you are a certain intern :) Get it ? Good.
....there's more but I'm tired of writing about this at the moment. Besides, this is the first halfway intelligent thing I've written in ages.
For example, a few weeks ago Doug and I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and saw the Salvador Dali show -- it was so incredibly inspiring and formidable. I was saturated with information when we left. It also makes me feel pretty elite -- like I know something. In fact they extended the time frame that the show was running because it was doing so well, tickets sold out on the extension but my honey got them in time. I really was fortunate to get to go see that because the exhibit culled pieces from several different museums and I may be wrong but not far from right in saying that I think it was the only North American showing of this exhibit.
Interestingly enough the Met was doing an exhibit on Max Ernst around the same time as the Dali exhibit. If I were a true devotee I would have made it up there, too. I am not. I think I'm still processing information from the Dali exhibit. We bought a print -- nothing like "Soft Construction with Boiled Beans" but one of his earlier works... I was also impressed with some of his later stuff.
Some things I took away --
1. Dali's approach to surrealism was truer, I think, than Ernst or a predecessor DiChirico, he was a realist painter, who painted his dreams with the same kind of clarity one might approach a portrait or a still life. I love this about his work, and it disturbs me to know there was someone running around with that kind of detail in his head. He did a still life -- bread in a basket blahdiblah that looked like a photo.
2. Dali had deep-seated woman issues. (who doesn't tricky critters that we are) But now I know that the women in his portraits are not random the two most used were his sister (who is in the print we bought) and his wife Gala.
3. If I ever think Doug is crazy refer to Dali's obsession with Millet's painting "The Angelus" He took his interpretation so incredibly far. In overview, he was convinced that rather than being a pastoral painting of two peasants, head's bowed in prayer, pausing in their work to do so -- he saw the woman as a praying mantis prepared to eat the man's head after coitus AND the man is into that (notice his hat over his private area -- according to Dali, he is hiding an erection)
4. Many of his painting feature a crutch of some sort holding something up. Basically most items being propped up by this crutch were elongate, disproportionate, or phallic. I don't have the quote exactly but Dali visualized them supporting the government (Spanish civil war) wanted to give them a sizeable kick and see what would happen.
This prop is a relic from Dali's childhood -- as explained in part by this quote from http://www.doubletakeart.com states "Quite by accident, Pitchot provided a prop that would serve Dali for most of his artistic life, when the young painter came across a crutch during his exploration of Pitchot's attic. " Further, from the audio tour of the exhibit, apparently he used this prop to poke and prod and otherwise torment a girl he was fond of at that time -- so you see it as a sexual extension of sorts. There are many ideas of the representation of the crutch -- due to the often sexual nature of Dali's work and his Freudian perspectives I'm going with the first.
From http://www.countyhallgallery.com their symbol glossary of Dali's work states "The crutch is one of Dali’s most important images and features in many of his works. It is first and foremost a symbol of reality and an anchor in the ground of the real world, providing spiritual and physical support for inadequacy in life. The crutch is also the symbol of tradition, upholding essential human values." I believe this to be bunk, as a generalization, much the same way archetypes in dream analyzation are often bunk. In fact, since so much of Dali's inspiration is from dreams, then I will stand firmly in my conviction. A cigar may just be a cigar, unless you are a certain intern :) Get it ? Good.
....there's more but I'm tired of writing about this at the moment. Besides, this is the first halfway intelligent thing I've written in ages.
posted by Laura | 7:10 PM
3 Comments:
oh laura / i love any thing dali
i wrote my art history final paper
on dali / /
i'm so jealous you got to see a show of his / /
thanx for the post / enjoyed muchly
hope you are well
~jennx
That's incredibly cool. yea, gala was a major player--later in life she'd make him paint and sell so she could support all her young lovers.
finchy -- it was such a great show I would have trouble encapsulating it all into writing -- the only drawback was the crowd -- I don't get people that just cruise by each painting just to say they saw it. I like to linger. I think an evening alone in the gallery would be amazing -- or a nightmare -- depending on what you ate for dinner, some ~wild~ dreams would ensue fer shur.
Jenni -- well,she had plan didn't she? Speaking of young, isn't it interesting that in all representations of her, she never gets older -- I think there is one portrait where you can tell she might be in her forties, but other that that she remains ageless... I think there is definately a poem in that somewhere-- or maybe as long as he painted her young she stayed you -- similar to Dorian Grey...... ohhh the possibilities...
Post a Comment
<< Home