"Knowing how to look is a way of inventing.” - Dali “ There is only one difference between a mad man and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know i am mad ” - dali

Dali’s Early Works

Key Ideas Much of Dali’s art work and his use of visual language demonstrates he was a supporter of many of Sigmund Freud’s analysis of the mind. Sigmund Freud’s developed theories relating to: talk therapy interpretations of dreams exploring the unconscious mind Id, ego and super-ego life drives and death drives psychosexual development Dali’s visual language, his use of symbolism, animals, religious symbols. Dalí often drew a close analogy between food and sex. Obsessive themes of eroticism, death, and decay permeate Dali's work, reflecting his familiarity with and synthesis of the psychoanalytical theories of his time. Drawing on blatantly autobiographical material and childhood memories, Dali's work is rife with often ready- interpreted symbolism, ranging from fetishes and animal imagery to religious symbols. Sigmund Freud

Gala and Dali Over the Years

Gala was Dali’s muse over the years. He painted and drew her hundreds of times.

Born: May 11, Figueras, Catalonia, Spain Died: January 23, Figueras, Catalonia, Spain

SALVADORE DALI: 1.Salvadore Dali, The Persistence of Memory (1931) 2.Salvadore Dali, Lobster Telephone (1936) 3.Salvadore Dali, “The Mae West Room” ( ) 4.Salvadore Dali, The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955) 5.Walt Disney's & Salvador Dali, Destino 2003

melting watches ants – decaying process landscape cliffs

Salvadore Dali, The Persistence of Memory (1931) The Persistence of Memory (1931) It is likely that Dali was using the clocks to symbolize mortality (specifically his own) rather than literal time. the melting flesh in the painting's center is loosely based on Dali's profile. The cliffs that provide the backdrop are taken from images of Catalonia, Dali's home Dali was fascinated with the natural process of decaying matter.

telephone lobster

Salvadore Dali, Lobster Telephone (1936) Example of a surrealist art Surrealism artists often combined two objects that would not normally go together, Dalí believed that such objects could reveal the secret desires of the unconscious. Lobsters (associated with erotic pleasure and pain) and telephones had strong sexual connotations for Dalí. In Lobster Telephone, the crustacean's tail, where its sexual parts are located, is placed directly over the mouthpiece.

Above The Dream of Venus, consisted in part of dressing live nude models in 'costumes' made of fresh seafood, an event photographed by Horst P. Horst and George Platt Lynes.

Salvadore Dali, “The Mae West Room” ( )

Salvadore Dali, The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955) The Boat Although there are a number of boats floating around the water, perhaps the most interesting boat is the one that seems to be emerging from the wound in Christ’s side. Traditionally Christian mystics have thought of the Church as being born out of the side of Christ, for as water pours out of the side with blood so too the church in its sacramental life is joined with Christ through the waters of baptism and communion with Christ through his blood in the Eucharist. There is also a tradition, going back to Tertullian, which sees the boat as an image for the church.(Rankin, 1995, p. 66) It seems likely that this is what Dali is exploring here.

Walt Disney's & Salvador Dali, Destino 2003