SALVADOR DALI
I did not know much about Dali until this challenge but researching his life and his artwork helped me separate the artist from the absurd man behind the bizarre madness of his work. I learned who the artist really was and what seemed like bizarre turned out to be nothing but dreams and visions!
So many times we judge the artist without knowing who or what or where their divine inspiration comes from where it ends up on the canvas. Knowing the artist for who they truly are helps one understand the desires and motives behind the art and its meaning.
Yes, he was eccentric, extremely eccentric, pushing the envelope further than any other artist, crossing boundaries that no other artist at this time had crossed. He was renowned for his crazy antics and ostentatious behavior.
The Art Director of one of the Museums where Dali had an exhibition once said, " Dali's conduct may have been undignified but the greater part of his art is a matter of dead earnest".
If people did not care for his public displays of madness, they did, however, care about what he put on canvas. So much so that his crazy "clownishness" was almost ignored.
"Each morning when I awake, I experience again the supreme pleasure, that of being Salvador Dali."
He had no care for a professional reputation or what anyone, including the critics, thought of him and his work. He lived his life bold and daring, painting whatever he pleased with no worries of criticism or doubts that his work was not good enough for the public.
He found life as an adventure, to be studied and explored, with no rules or limitations to his lifestyle, his imagination, or his style of painting.
Even his famous mustache became an iconic symbol as to who Dali was in personality and character.
Dali once said, "The only difference between me and a madman is I am not mad."
He was known as a Surrealist Painter and his paintings were mixed with surreal images along with the style of Classicism, and Cubism. He was also heavily influenced by the modern advancements of science, calling his work, Nuclear Fusion mixed with Geometry. He used the influence of Sigmond Freud and his famous psychoanalysis theories tp incorporate his dreams and subconscious thoughts into his artwork. This would explain the bizarre images he used in his work. These images were also used as symbols of the subject in Dali's paintings. This led to many different interpretations of his work by critics but only Dali knew what their meaning was. He once said that the bizarre images he used in his paintings were of "dreams and nightmares".
He said this about his work, "The secret of my influence has always been that it remain secret." Dali wanted his motives for painting the bizarre images in his art to be his own secret. A mystery. His own mystery. The secret he had only to himself...the artist.
"Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings."
"A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others."
"Surrealism is not a movement. It is a latent state of mind perceivable through the powers of dream and nightmare.
Another famous quote of Dali's as he tried to explain his incongruous style of living and the bizarre images of his paintings, "I am not on drugs. I am a drug!"
"Take me, I am the drug, take me, I am hallucinogenic."
It has been said that Dali was the greatest painter of Surrealism in his time. He was a huge success and widely accepted in the art world. His flamboyant personality drew people to him as they were equally fascinated by the mystery of his "strange" artwork. I do not think any one person ever really knew or saw inside Dali's mind or his imagination nor could completely understand the motives behind his work. That he reserved only for himself to know. Dali enjoyed the mystery that surrounded his work but his real delight came from the repugnance of his art to certain people and what kind of reaction it evoked.
He said this of his childhood, "At the age of six, I wanted to be a cook. At the age of seven, I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since".
Something very sad that I found out about the artist is that there have been allegations that when Dali became ill and was dying, he was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that could later be used in forgeries. As a result of those allegations, art dealers tend to be wary of the later works of Dali.
He once said, as his life was coming to a close, "When you are a genius, you do not have the right to die because we are necessary for the progress of man."
After many health complications. Salvador Dali passed away in 1989. He was 85 years old. His great artistic contributions to Surrealism influenced and inspired many artists who came into the art world after him. Because of Dali's daring spirit, they had the courage to also paint their "dreams and nightmares" and became a Surrealistic Success in today's art world.
"Life is too short to remain unnoticed."
This is our last Challenge for the Theme of Surreal, Abstract Painters for this month. Your challenge is to bring out the Dali in your artwork! Think bold and daring and toss your inhibitions to the wind! And if you need further inspiration...grow a long, skinny MUSTACHE!
I also posted a page with more of Dali's artwork for you to see! Check it out!!
I cannot wait to see what you will come up with!
Here Is Mine:
Digital art created from a background from Pixabay, Itkupilli's Digital Kit Steampunk Fantasy, and Miriam's Digital Kit Scraps
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