Salvador Dali: The Father of Surrealist ArtPresenter:

Rida Khan

Outline

• Date/Country of birth/death• Type of work• Fame• Contribution• Famous works

Birth and demise

• Birth: 1904 in Figueras, Spain• 20th century• Death: 1989 in Figueras

Type of work

• Surrealist painter• Sculptor• Graphic artist• Designer

Rise to fame

• Surrealist work:- Reflection of unreal dreams and paranoiac state of mind- Subconscious mind depicted through

bizarre/hallucinatory images• Paintings: dream world – distorted, metamorphosed and

juxtaposed objects• Best-known surrealist artist• Exhibitionism and eccentricity

Contribution• Films:

- An Andalusian Dog – 1928- The Golden Age – 1930• Renaissance: paintings [Raphael]; religion, childhood

and Gala – expulsion from Surrealism• Theatrics, shop interiors, jewelry and exhibitions• Books:- The Secret Life of Salvador Dali- Diary of a Genius- Oui: The Paranoid Critical Revolution

Famous Works

Persistence of Memory• Melting watches in serene landscape• Einstein’s theory: time is relative and eternal, not fixed• Ocean: vastness• Ant-covered clock: death/misuse of time• Idea: melting Camembert cheese on a hot day

Disintegration in the Persistence of Memory

• Reflection of new science• Quantum & mechanics in physics• Splitting of matter into atoms• Olive tree breaking apart• Fish – symbolic of life• Idea: atomic bomb explosions of 1945

Lobster Telephone

• Representation of food items• Motive: ordered grilled lobster, never given boiled

telephone

Sculptures

•

Space Elephant, London, UK

Profile of Time, UK

Horse Saddle with Time, UK

Saint George and the Dragon, Singapore

Statue of Salvador Dali, Spain

References

• www.britannica.com• http://www.virtualdali.com

• Thank you • Questions?