“Persistence of Memory”
Salvador Dali
I chanced upon this painting while surfing the net and it somehow seemed to grab my attention. This was a painting by Salvador Dali, a painter well-known for his surreal works. I did some research on Dali’s works and discovered that he did a bunch of paintings that were influenced by the surreal. Still I found this particular painting rather interesting as Dali uses certain methods of communication through his painting. In this analysis, I wish to comment on the way Dali communicates with his audience.
A person who is looking at the painting for the first time would notice a white apparition in the foreground, three white melting clocks and an orange clock, all being put into a bleak setting. The audience would certainly find the painter’s communication methods rather baffling at first. Undoubtedly, surreal paintings usually have such effects, especially when the audience is looking at it for the first time.
Upon further critique, the audience would realise other more specific features of the painting, such as the rigid angles and lines on the left side that are being juxtaposed onto a majorly natural setting. The audience would also notice the orange clock on the bottom left hand corner of the painting to be coated in black crumb-like objects.
What I find interesting about this painting is the fact that our first impression is not usually what it really is. Nevertheless, having false first impressions is part of the type of reaction a surreal artist wishes to get out of his audience.
Let’s start getting into the specific analysis of how Dali uses non-verbal forms of communication (symbols) to express himself.
1) The white apparition – It is, in fact, not really just a white apparition, but part of a face. The face seems to be melting, just like all the clocks. Many have said that the face represents Dali himself. This barely definable figure appears in many of Dali’s other works. I believe that chose to depict himself in much of his paintings to indicate his presence in the kind of world that he has created.
2) The melting clocks – Dali portrayed melting clocks as a symbol to literally represent the irrelevance of time. Melting clocks are undeniably the key feature in this painting that depicts the surreal. In my opinion, the use of melting clocks seems to indicate that Dali was trying to convey a message of distress. He communicates this in a very subtle way by taking a humble object, the clock, and transforming it so as to bring across a message.
3) The insects – upon further analysis, the black crumb-like objects on the orange clock are actually ants. In addition, a fly rests ever so peacefully on one of the clocks. These insects are being portrayed by Dali as a symbol of decay and decomposition, and probably death. Here he tries to emphasize the irrelevance of time by using objects that have negative and extreme connotations.
There are many other aspects of this painting that are essential in Dali’s overall message. In summarizing my analysis, I would like to point out the fact that a person’s perception of this painting may differ to others’. I may look at it as Dali trying to convey a negative message, however a friend may choose to say that the natural setting seems to provide a more optimistic light.
Dali has used various ways to communicate with the audience, either through ethos (how a person’s personality influences his or her perception of the article), pathos (how the article evokes emotions that may have effect on the person’s perception) as well as logic (or the lack of it, in this case, at least). For surreal paintings such as this one, a person uses his experience of logic to decipher what the painter tries to communicate.
If you're craving for more visual pleasure by Dali, visit
http://www.virtualdali.com/
yes i guess the perception of a person changes after we get to know them over a period of time. Not everyone has a character that can be seen immediately. We would better understand the person as time goes by. Just like how we would notice the intricate details of the paintings after looking at it a few times.
ReplyDeleteThe use of non-verbal communication is very small in this post, however, the way the artist brings his message across (the minute the viewer understands it and sees it), the point is definitely driven home. I agree with you that the issue on time is painted as a negative thing, protrayed by the melting clocks and decomposed insects. Interesting way to get your point across without opening one's mouth! If only we could do this all the time HAHAHA
ReplyDeleteTo me, that was a pretty hard picture to decipher. I always found myself having difficulty trying to understand the implication of the various signs in art. I can literally see that there are melting clocks but to me, it appears that the art is living in a timeless situation where time does not matter. Life and death do not occur as there the clock is not ticking.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole, I agree totally that an image is a thousand words and that different people have various interpretation and perception of it, depending on their ethos, pathos and lagos.
You're quite good at deciphering the painting! I didn't read so much into it at first.
ReplyDeleteI think that perception is a very personal thing! Mostly because we make meaning out of communication and interaction based on prior interactions, knowledge, culture and socialisation. What I perceive as pretty, one may perceive as average, vice versa. Just like how I interpreted the picture and made meaning out of it, was definitely different from yours! Though I could also point out the melting clocks and insects, I thought the first represented that time is always fleeting, and that the insects represent the many commitments that feed on our time. That difference in perception and interpretation is probably because I don't know that artist as well as you do. Some details of the painting was also not as important to me as they were important to you.
Yup, that's my 2 cents'!
Wow, you are really good at analysing works of art. I myself can't do such a deep analysis of art...Its just not my forte ;)
ReplyDeletePerception works in ways that we ourselves can't comprehend at times. How others view things may be different from how we do. Therefore, sometimes we choose to deem what we perceive to be the correct version. Yet, what we must remember is that there is no right or wrong. Works of art are subjective and it is up to the people's imagination and creativity to decide for themselves just what the painting or portrait represents. :)
Good job!
KART
ReplyDeletei tink tt tis picture is very interesting, although i dont really understand the intention of the painter. i tink u have done a good job on the analysis and i understand ur perception of tis painting. and i also tink tt the painter was emphasizing on the fragility of time.
nice one. rawr!