Introduction
Some of the most remarkable parts of the study unit are connected with surrealism and cubism, specifically with Salvador Dali and his artworks. Making familiar and straightforward objects look unusual and gaining a broader sense than it seems is an exceptional field to study that eventually leads to understanding art. Berger has managed to develop several thoughts on the way of seeing objects and paintings in particular. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze one of the most famous paintings by Salvador Dali, “The Persistence of Memory,” its meaning, message, and possible interpretation of the depicted objects. While observing the piece of art, Berger’s ideas and outlooks on the painting and objects will be considered and aligned with the analysis.
Main body
Surrealism captured public attention at the beginning of the 20th century, and there are specific reasons for this. Artists of that time, such as Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, who were the massive inspiration for the first one, showed a unique way of depicting common objects. They have created an imaginary unrealistic world from the plain and ordinary scenes that stimulate the audience’s imagination and perception of everyday life (Martinez-Conde et al. 8). The picture illustrates the landscape, plain, empty with no trees or grass, only the soil surrounding the sea and the melted clocks are placed on the ground and the stick. The fly sits on one of the clocks, and on the other, ants gather together.
Supposedly, the shape lying on the ground with the clock on it is a self-portrait of Dali. Looking closer, the lashes, nose, mouth, mustache, and overall features can be seen. This observation correlates with Berger’s concept that giving a distinct sight of something and further thinking of it may reveal the true sense of the object (“The moment of cubism: and other essays” 4). Dali himself claimed that the picture had no special meaning, but it only made the critics and the public guess with more curiosity about the hidden message (Zero 10). Picturing the melting watches might represent the inevitability of time that humans cannot control and which consequences cannot escape.
For instance, the ants that gathered together on the clock that by the colors similar to the flesh can be associated with the rotten body, again showing that time is unstoppable, and there is no way to change it. That conclusion depicts some of Berger’s points of view that considered looking at the picture as it is, seeing everything that lies on the surface, and only after accepting it start the searching for a deeper meaning (“Toward reality: Essays in seeing” 6). That is a sign of Dali’s work when the simple and familiar objects eventually reveal the message and the truth that people every day bother to ignore, though it lies on the surface.
Summary
To summarize the analysis of Salvador’s Dali painting “The Persistence of Memory” and Berger’s philosophy of viewing the art, it is essential to mention the initial meaning of the topic. Surrealism is about depicting everyday regular objects and figures that make no sense outside the context. However, if to see their actual form, accept it, and proceed to view them with a clear mind, the broader sense will eventually reveal behind all the simple yet the same time absurd and surreal images.
Works Cited
Berger, John. Toward reality: Essays in seeing. Knopf, 1962.
—. The moment of cubism: and other essays. New York: Pantheon Books, 1969.
Martinez-Conde, Susana, et al. “Marvels of Illusion: Illusion and Perception in the Art of Salvador Dali.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 9, Frontiers Research Foundation, 2015. Web.
Zero, Federico., et al. Dali: The Persistence of Memory. NDE Pub. 1999.