Dali Debate

Have you always been interested in the art world, but never really known where to start? If so then you're not alone! As I was perusing the internet for an artist to write about, I realized that I didn't know about any artists except the basics. (You know, DaVinci, Michaelangelo, etc.) Soon, however, I came across an artist whose paintings I'd seen before, but I'd never known his name. His most famous piece of work is his painting "The Persistence of Memory." You've probably seen this before without realizing who the artist is (like me!). The image is one of melting clocks on a barren landscape. Sound familiar? The artist's name is Salvador Dali. Salvador Dali was a Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and designer. Both Dali’s personal life and work stirred up the art world during his time. Even today, he is still considered one of the 20th century’s most controversial artists.For example, one debate about Dali's work is what his focus, or motivation, was. In this debate one author argues that Dali's interest lay in the unconscious, while another argues that culture was his forte.

During the early 20th century, surrealism was a popular avant-garde movement. Artists working in the style of surrealism “sought to express ‘the real processes of thought’”. Surrealists liked to work with the irrationality of the unconscious, or dream world, and they acknowledged diverse political movements of the time like communism, fascism, and liberalism. These artists were inspired by the writings of Sigmund Freud, which explains their obsession with the unconscious, the illogical, and fantasy. Some art critics think that by working in the style of surrealism, Dali relied on imagery rather than form. One critic, Robert Turner, wrote a review of Dali’s work in the article, “Power to the Imagination”. He believed that Dali created work in this surrealist style to help people achieve an imaginative state, better than everyday reality. This author also wrote that surrealists like Dali, drew some inspiration for imaginative pieces from a variety of historical sources. So if you’re a history buff, you may like Dali’s work “The Metamorphosis of Narcissus”, which depicts a scene from the famous Greek and Roman poet Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”. Ultimately, the author of this article believes that Dali’s primary focus in his paintings and sculptures was “liberating the mind”.

Other art critics, however, differ from this opinion of Dali’s focus. One such author, Mark Van Proyen wrote his views in the article, “On Point”. This author agreed that Dali was a surrealist, but in his opinion, Dali focused on culture rather than reality or the unconscious. According to him, Dali tried to portray that popular culture was the “only real living culture”. This was because his works had an enhanced “illustrative and sentimental character”, meaning his art was full of vivid color and emotion. Other artists would later follow his dip into the “pop art” pool, such as the famous Andy Warhol. By focusing on popular culture, this author believed that Dali was ‘sticking it to the art world’. He was exposing the truth about what the art world was becoming, entertainment based solely on investment. No wonder art snobs didn’t like him much, right? After all, he was turning their prestigious art world upside down. This author believed that Dali’s eccentric focus on culture was shockingly surreal for his time, as seen by the art world’s opinion of him at the time.

Although both authors believe Dali was ahead of the game, they differ in their opinions on the focus of his work. Personally, I agree with the first author. In my opinion, Salvador Dali was an artistic genius who had the most fun working with reality, and thereby disfiguring it. His paintings invoke images that you would find in your wildest dreams. I am definitely not an art critic, but I feel that Dali’s works portray that he was more interested in abstract concepts like time, rather than culture. No matter his focus, his works definitely did revolutionize the contemporary art world, and hopefully, he has now sparked your interest in art!