Surrealism

While exchanging emails with an art loving bride, I was reminded of the time that I visited the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg, FL. At the time I had a mild interest in Dali's work and wanted to see an actual painting in order to better understand the madness to his craft. I feel there's a much deeper connection to the artist when you can look at the original work, instead of a print of the work. A print can only capture so much. In my mind, texture is an essential element of painted art and speaks volumes of the artist's process.

I didn't fully appreciate Dali until I found myself standing in front of one of the largest paintings on canvas that I had ever seen to that point. The Hallucinogenic Toreador was nearly two stories tall, and full of imagery, optical illusion, and symbolism. What the print cannot convey is how he managed to paint images within the texture of this painting. I must have looked at the painting for 15-30 minutes alone.. and I could have looked longer. The longer you look, the more you see, the more aborbed you become in the work, and the work becomes in you. If you ever find yourself in the area of St. Petersburg, FL, do yourself a favor and visit this museum, if nothing else but to stand in front of this amazing work and attempt to take it all in.