Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Memory” Artwork Interpretation

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Art is a highly expressive and vague technique for expression. There is a constant questioning of the artist’s motives or theorizing as to the meaning of a piece. The real wonder of art is that it can really take any form, use any medium, and is relatable to everyone. Additionally, even though an artist may have a genuine intent for what they want their work to say, it becomes exceedingly convoluted as others’ highly varied views come into contact with it. Rarely does a viewer see exactly what the producer of the work is trying to say? In fact, it usually takes statements from the artist as to the actual meaning of a specific work. One of the greatest aspects is that the generator may not even have a goal in mind, but based on the worldview of other individuals it may bring up hidden significances.

For this assignment, I chose an old classic that I have had experience with in the past. It is Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Memory”. It resides in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. This is Dali’s most well-known piece, although many of his other works follow the same general styling. This is an example of modern art, even though it was created in 1931. This work is somewhat of an enigma, because it holds the tradition of a classic, yet is exceedingly modern.

When one thinks about adjusting its setting, it really could be placed anywhere, due to the fact that it is highly progressive for its time, while congruently being iconic. It seems to have found its ideal home in New York City, an area where there is an excessive tradition, while at the same time being forward-thinking and a hub of expression. Truly, this painting could call any popular gallery home. It may not fare as well in heavily traditional art institutions, but due to its excessive notoriety, any knowledgeable curator would want this as an addition.

As to the actual meaning behind Dali’s “Persistence of Memory”, there have been many speculations. Dali was an extremely complex individual that incorporated many different elements into his works. As for the “Persistence of Memory”, Dali has alluded to the fact that it may have some connection with the world inspired by Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. However, when Dali was asked about this relation, he responded that the melting clocks were inspired by melting cheese in the sun. Additionally, Dali utilized dream experience in this work, especially with the creature in the middle of the composition.

It is very similar to the occurrence when one sees something in a dream, but is unable to actually identify what they are seeing. Furthermore, Dali included one of his trademark signatures, a clock covered in ants. It is located in the bottom left corner of the piece and as with many of Dali’s methods, has been studied and speculated upon often. What most individuals conclude is that it stands for death or female genitalia. I believe that the inclusion of the latter is more of a symbol of rebirth, rather than a sexual reference. Lastly, Dali included a human figure, which is actually located in the creature that was already described. Many believe that Dali was attempting to include himself in his works and this seems to be his motive for this addition.

When seeing this painting for the first time, I believed that it was just creative work. It took highly diverse, convoluted, and adaptable elements to make a strange but beautiful composition. As time went on, however, I began to look more into the history behind it and realized that it had some societal commentary as well. The world has been very religious in its past, and with that comes a large dislike of secular belief, as well as a scientific explanation.

As said before, this painting may have been a statement about the Theory of Relativity, which on a personal level I feel as if it is attempting to say that science can be loved and adored. Although Dali’s work may come off as confusing and twisted, there is a basic goodness that communicates beauty in all art methods, not just the traditional. Moreover, this work, although popular, was created quite a long time ago, where traditional values were regarded as life principles. This work seems to be a forward statement on the future that utilizes Dali’s creative brilliance.

As to the actual interpretation, there are obviously millions. Everyone has their own opinion, even if it strays from what the artist has highlighted the focus as being. Clearly, based on Dali’s input regarding the actual meaning, there is definitely a focus on worldly progression, secular thinking, and the evolution of art. Individually, my interpretation is quite different from the meanings introduced above. Although I believe that it certainly incorporates those ideas, I am confused by the title, which really does not connect to the explanations of progressive and secular themes. The piece’s title gave me inspiration as to what the artist was trying to communicate. “The Persistence of Memory”, is not only a title but a comment on life.

I always thought the painting to be an idea of memories themselves. Even though time fades, seen as the melting clocks, our memories remain. Things will pass on, symbolized by the dying creature in the middle of the composition, yet our memories will stay intact forever. Additionally, the clock as stated prior as being a symbol of death and female genitalia, or rebirth is yet another reflection of the continuing strength of memories.

People will pass on and others will be born, time will fade, but memories never truly die. Even though the one that holds the memories may no longer be with us anymore, the times that were made with others will continue on. As with most artwork, the artist wanted viewers to see their work and enjoy it. It is concurrently effective to allow the audience’s minds to forge their own interpretations, which gives the capability to see art from many different viewpoints.

This is a classic work and due to its consistent popularity, it has been a highly respected and positively received piece. I genuinely enjoy this composition, but after creating personal interpretations I now regard it with much more esteem. Even if some of the audience does not understand what Dali was attempting to say to his viewers, they can at least respect the creativity, effort, and beauty of this artwork. I also applaud Dali for pushing the boundaries of art at the time period and being unafraid of experimentation with new methods. Additionally, Dali took an exorbitant quantity of vague and underused material and presented it in such a way that its brilliance and beauty will never be matched in the same way again.

Dali was also able to create such an intricate and mysterious work that gave such an amorphous quality that it truly has been difficult to make a clear assumption as to its meaning. With some modern art pieces is really can be argued as to whether or not it is truly an art. It is so easy to make something and call it “art” even though there are no effective properties. Dali was able to keep to an untraditional artistic method while giving us true elegance. One of the reasons that this work has had so much notoriety over the years is the fact that its meaning is always speculated.

How does such an amazing and fantastical work have no distinct meaning? It seems, as with most artwork and clearly with Dali’s “Persistence of Memory”, interpretation is left up to the audience. This attempted translation is directly related to how our brains function, our past and memories, and environmental conditioning as a whole. Therefore, there is the ability to get millions and millions of varied theories, each with its own minute and unexpected details. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as well as translation.

Art Education 160, Art and Music Since 1945

Checklist for Midterm Critical Art Paper Winter 2012

This checklist of requirements for the midterm has two purposes:

to help you prepare for the midterm
to use as your guide to verify that your midterm paper meets all requirements and expectations.

When you upload your midterm to the Carmen Midterm dropbox, please upload with it a copy of this checklist. Make sure that you have checked the items you have verified to be in your paper.

Description

___x_____ Thoroughly describes the work visually
_____x___ Uses art vocabulary from class
_____x___ Articulates a sense of the movement through the work, where the eye goes
_____x___ If the work moves in any way
_____x___ Gives relational descriptions
_____x___ Vividly describes to the reader what the work looks like
_____x___ Uses lots of adjectives

Contemplation on Interpretation

_____x___ Thoughtfully uses description to formulate well thought out and developed interpretations
_____x___ Uses evidence from description and relationships within the work to support statements
_____x___ Paper reads fluidly and intertwines the description and judgment to the interpretations
_____x___ Clearly states how you interpret the work and gives some narrative and story to the work

Social Interaction and Judgment

_____x___ Thoroughly explains what you think of the work; specifically, how it is art., and gives evidence of why you do or don’t like it
_____x___ Shows sound understanding of judgment
_____x___ Discusses the interactions, contexts, and other influences that impact one’s judgment
_____x___ Critically discusses the social interactions that informed the interpretation and judgment and gives sound reasoning

Mechanics

____x____ No to very few spelling errors, typos, and meets stated mechanical requirements, including length
____x____ Sufficiently meets all content requirements.

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Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Memory” Artwork Interpretation

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