Dali Museum of St. Petersburg

Yesterday, I was fortunate to get a limited photo tour of the Dali Museum (1000 Third Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 727-823-3767). This facility is usually no-cameras-allowed, but thanks to Kathleen White, the Deputy Director, I was able to do a press-only tour and bring you, my readers, some photos.

Salvador Dali was an interesting character. Dreamer, intellectual, follower of Freud and gifted artistic crafter. But his artwork is not for everyone, and it’s obvious in his transitions over the years that he really was reaching for something that most people don’t see. While many of his earlier works were, on the surface “simple”, there was a breach at about 1924 when everything changed. His works became more abstract, with layers of hidden meaning that could be taken by how he painted, where he placed facets of his characters and the context within what he was painting. It’s easy enough to dismiss his artwork with “I don’t get it”, but for those who have an eye for the obscure, a desire for the unique and an interest in the unusual, Dali’s work may very well speak to you on a deep and meaningful level that only surrealism can do.

Dali had a number of themes that spoke to me. His obsession with time, and the idea of “bending time” reflects my own need to master and confine my place in time and space. His concepts of beauty and grace are seen in how he draws women, and how they interact with their environments. A number of his paintings feature “items removed”. Essentially, an item is drawn as if it’s cut out of another item and placed in another part of the work, reflecting how I feel like the things I do and the things I own are often a part of who I am, and when they are gone I feel emptier because of it. The great thing, for me, about surrealistic art is that you can take a number of meanings from each piece and apply them to your own life. Living in metaphor is something Dali does very well.

For examples of his work, see the Google Images of his artwork:
http://images.google.com/images?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=salvador+dali&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=G0OMSaL5Bo_ftgeQs_SiCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

The museum is a first class establishment. Large rooms with the paintings sparsely mounted, giving plenty of room for people to engage the art without crowding other visitors. On Thursdays, their admission fee drops from the normal $15 to a bargain price of $5/visitor. The place was packed yesterday. At one point, I counted over 90 people in the large auditorium room and another 100+ in a viewing area showing an old black and white movie. For the price, you really can’t beat this exhibit.

The museum, in it’s current state, will be open for another few years until their new museum opens in 2011. The new structure will be bigger, with more works of art, and the building itself will be a work of art based on Dali’s unique approach to art.

Art Exhibits Dali Museum