Salvador Dali was a surrealist painter born in 1904 in Figueras, Catalonia, a major region of Spain. He studied art in several different parts of the country, and became a master at adapting various styles into his repertoire effortlessly. When he was a teenager, he became fascinated with the ideals and concepts of psychologist Sigmund Freud, which he carried over into his twenties. He liked the link between artistic works and the subconscious mind, which caused him to focus heavily on the content of his art. Dali became very aware of the things he was trying to convey to the viewer, all the while dabbling in erotic and dreamlike imagery. Another major influence on his work was becoming immersed in the works of the Paris Surrealists who liked to paint from the subconscious mind, not necessarily with a definitive purpose in mind for the outcome of the work.

Arguably, one his most famous works was The Persistence of Memory, which he painted as a relatively young man in 1931. This painting depicts several pocket watches, detached from their chains, and melting slowly on rocks and a tree branch. It is quite deceiving to the eye initially, because it is a fantasy scene placed over a very lifelike setting, the ocean. The main part of the painting is that “hard objects become inexplicably limp in this bleak and infinite dreamscape” (The Museum of Modern Art 2007). An interpretation of this is that things that appear strong and always purposeful come to a point where they fade away and become somewhat useless. Many critics of the surrealist painters have felt that there paintings lack substance, and that there appears to be no rhyme of reason for their style of work. But, as we can observe from The Persistence of Memory, this painting certainly has depth and makes a statement.

The surrealists, including and especially Dali, did not hide the fact that much of the imagery found in their works came directly from hallucinations. Drugs and dreams alike become the driving forces behind his unusual statements through his art. Furthermore, Dali felt that painting in this way provided a much needed release, as he viewed painting in a similar way to that of making love.

At the center of The Persistence of Memory is a strange creature lying in the sand, looking somewhat pathetic and lifeless. Many art historians have said that this ‘monster’ actually has the face of Dali himself, and “its long eyelashes seem disturbingly insectlike or even sexual” (The Museum of Modern Art 2007). Perhaps this is how he pictured himself, somewhat peaceful and yet lost with no concept of time to keep him going forward. Further interpretation could reveal felt somewhat flat like the monster depicted, and grew tired of the burden that time and place brought to him. This could be seen in his real life, since the surrealists eventually grew tired of Dali’s antics and eccentric nature. They no longer considered him as part of their group due to his unwillingness to take a political stance amidst their predominantly Communist approach to life.

What is remarkable about Salvador Dali’s work is that it represents a clash of two different sides: real and imagination. But, he does not only in concept but also in shape. For example, when we go to the beach, we do of course see the water and sand, and sometimes rocks or cliffs off in the distance, as is displayed in the painting. Yet, the entire left side of the painting not only has the unusual clocks melting away, but very rigid lines and boxes that provide a platform for the pocket watches. What bridges them together is the monster that slides gently over rocks in the center of the painting. But what brings sentimentality to this work is that Dali revealed the cliffs in the distance are actually from a place in Catalonia, where he grew up.

A subtle theme in The Persistence of Memory, which Dali has used before, is ants. They are drawn to the decaying of time, much as they would be as if it were “like rotting flesh” (The Museum of Modern Art 2007). By depicting insects hovering together, it gives the painting a somber tone, perhaps suggesting that, despite the lack of time, things must come to an end somehow anyway.

No matter what is said about the painting, this work has stood the test of time, and is still referenced in much of pop culture today. Salvador Dali has become an icon for a generation of people interested in the abstract and distortion of reality.












Reference
The Museum of Modern Art. (2007). Salvador Dali Collection. Retrieved November 25,
2007 from http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=79018