There are some works of art and artists, which, because they are so well known, somehow seem to loose their impact on one’s retina.
Such was the case with Dali for me. Of course, I was aware of his role in Surrealism and I was familiar with his attention-directing character. Yet, recently, a limited edition photolithography we acquired (Soft Watches, Half Asleep from Les Diners de Gala, 1971) mysteriously caught my attention and led me to revisit my opinion. Beyond the caricature (there is more to the Lanvin chocolate commercial than what meets the eyes), I discovered a mesmerising body of work which can, for instance, creates a prolific dialogue between Freud and Velazquez or explores in philosophical terms the very parameters of space and time (remember the melted clocks).
His gargantuesque power to hop from one medium to the other, to reinvent himself without being trapped by any art movement and to eventually turned himself into a work of art, simultaneously absorbed and ridiculed so many of the tactics of his contemporaries and artists to come.
He might not be the most popular these days, and this is partly due, I think, to his unforgiving capacity to confronts us with what we don’t want to see…the meanders of our unconscious. In these days of confusion, we could all learn from Dali’s observations and take a deep look into the objects within our minds or within our world that we cannot photoshop…
Salvador Dali, detail from the panel of the Wind Palace ceiling (1972-1973)
Salvador Dali, Soft Watches Half Asleep, photolithograph 1971