Sun Table by Salvador Dali

Sun Table by Salvador Dali, 1936 


Salvador Dalí's greatest intellectual and artistic honesty is probably never to have practiced any sophisticated, gymnastic aesthetics, in order to place the most disparate and most bizarre objects in his pictures. Sun Table is a good example of this. When he painted this composition, Dalí did not know why he put a camel in with all the other elements which belonged to Cadaqués. Today he explains the premonitional character of this image by pointing out the package of Camel cigarettes placed at the feet of the silhouette of the young boy, probably himself, and he told me in 1970 that he had read an article by Martin Gardner which appeared in the magazine Scientific American under the heading "scientific games," in which the author explained that "the image on the cover of a package of cigarettes was full of extraordinary objective hazards - for example, the English word 'choice' written vertically in capital letters on the side of the package, when looked at in a mirror, remains unchanged and perfectly legible."

In order to stress the out-of-context and obsessive character of a camel with all the magical aspects associated with the animal, Dalí wrote later in his book Dix recettes d'immortalite that "seen through an electronic microscope it is possible to demonstrate that a camel is much less precise than a cloud."

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Night and Day Clothes by Salvador Dali

 

Night and Day Clothes by Salvador Dali, 1936

Here is undoubtedly one of the most astonishing of the innumerable illustrations, pen or pencil drawings, gouaches, or watercolors produced by Dalí before World War II for the most glamorous fashion magazines. This one was done during the winter of 1936 while Dalí and Gala were spending a few days at Cortina d'Ampezzo. Dalí thinks he remembers that it was probably destined for Harper's Bazaar or Vogue. For him, the interesting part of this creation stems from the idea that he imagined during winter sports, with snow plainly visible, an outfit that suggests sun baths, since one can easily discover four openings by rolling up a sort of shade in order to expose the body.

Most of the costumes created by Dalí possess an obvious erotic power. Here, we don't know at exactly what moment the outfit becomes skin, covering, coat - indeed even a closet, cupboard, or a window - since this tunic-dress has a front zipper and can at the same time be opened wide by turning the cremone bolt which is pictured on it.    

"The constant tragedy of human life is fashion, and that is why I have always liked to collaborate with Mlle Chanel and Mme Schiaparelli, just to prove that the idea of dressing oneself, the idea of disguising oneself, was only the consequence of the traumatic experience of birth, which is the strongest of all the traumas that a human being can experience, since it is the first. Fashion is also the tragic constant of history; through it you always see war coming while watching its fashion reviews and its parades of mannequins who themselves are veritable exterminating angels."


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Figure at a Window by Salvador Dali

Figure at a Window by Salvador Dali, 1925 

As a youth, Dalí did numerous portraits of his sister, Ana-Maria, often painted on copper and very small in size. This one, larger and on canvas, is considered one of the most beautiful. It was shown on Dalí's first one-man exhibition, in Barcelona at the Dalmau Gallery in November 1925. In her book "Salvador Dalí, visto por su hermana", Ana-Maria wrote: "The portraits that my brother painted of me during this period are innumerable. Many were simple studies of hair and a bare shoulder." She remembers the long hours of posing during which, serving as his model, she never tired of "looking at the landscape which from then on and forever was a part of me. Indeed Salvador always painted me near a window!" Such a portrait is 'Seated Girl, Seen from the Back'. In 'Figure at a Window', Ana-Maria poses in the room on the first floor of the paternal home in Cadaqués which Salvador used as a studio.

Both Figure at a Window and Seated Girl Seen from the Rear were painted in 1925, using oil on canvas. The model was Ana Maria, Dalí's younger sister and only sibling. For a long time Dalí and Ana Maria were extremely close, especially after their mother's death, when Ana Maria took on the role of mother to the demanding Dalí. Ana Maria was the only female model Dalí used until Gala replaced her in 1929.   

As with Seated Girl Seen from the Rear, we can not see the face of the girl and so our focus is drawn to the view that she is looking at from her window. The view is the bay of Cadaqués, a Spanish seaside town where the Dalís spent their summers. The predominant colors of light blues and lavenders give the painting a peaceful feel that is unusual in much of Dalí's work.

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Emoing情绪低落低落中... Jeremy Messersmith －A Boy, A Girl and A Graveyard

最近因为大学入学的事情比较郁闷，所以在听一些很emo的歌曲。这就是其中的一首。本人很喜欢这一首歌，因为歌曲整个编曲就從感情沉重的小调入手。 而且伤感的歌词也使这首歌让我有了共鸣。不管是Frankenstein 还是现在的我，都需要某种刺激让我们从新感到生活的意义以及热情。本人并不是一个悲观更不是一个愤世嫉俗的人，而是非常积极向上的对未来充满希望的。但 是，在这20年的时间当中总是有一些小起伏。情绪低落的时候就可能会暂时失去对生活的热情。不过自己还是要想办法，让自己重新站起来。
最近 也刚看完一本小说。虽然结局是自己预料中的最好的一个，但是小说的女主人公最后的牺牲和死亡还是让我非常的伤心。喜欢看书，但是从来不挑悲剧的我，好像最 后还是选错了书。还是现在的作家们再把故事和情节一定要搞到这样－这样让读者揪心和难过－才会让作品受到读者的欢迎呢？不管这事一种作者写作的技巧还是我 太多的感情投入，我希望自己能够很快地恢复到原来的自己。
离开了高中，离开了宿舍，有重新回到这里。但是不同的是，现在要自己照顾自己－自 己找房子，自己做饭，自己找工作赚钱。找工作之前是抱着很兴奋的心情回来的。可是一直不顺利的经历让自己对自己更加失去了信心。好像很多不好的事情都同时 发生了。请和我现在处在同样状况的朋友一起来相信雨后有彩虹，明天有是新的一天吧！

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