Oot and aboot: Episode 4

We went to see Dali at the National Gallery of Victoria (Liquid Desire) last Thursday. Can't recall what I was expecting, but whatever it was, I was completely blown away.

Salvador Dali is of course known primarily as a surrealist painter. I can't claim to be an expert on art history, but I definitely tend to gravitate towards surrealism a bit more than other movements. Magritte and Miró are the other two painters whom I admire.

What interested me, as we walked through the Dali exhibit, was the discovery that I had taken for granted what surrealism actually means. There is a richness to the style and technique, but the layers of meaning are also quite subversive (e.g. use of scatology). True, there is some shock value involved, especially with Dali, but the narrative is certainly far more complex than your average Impressionist painting.

Apart from this, the exhibit reveals the complexity of the artist himself. Dali experimented widely, and in fact went through what is called a Renaissance period in his later years, when the visual details of his work became more realistic rather than surrealistic. I also hadn't been aware of his involvement in advertising, photography, jewellery-making and film (Destino, a 2003 short animated feature that was originally a collaboration between Dali and Walt Disney, is a highlight of the exhibit).

If you're up for some eye-opening and mildly mind-bending experience, go ahead and see Dali!