I haven’t thought about Salvador Dalí since high school, a time when melting clocks, genitalia, and sundry visual jokes are especially well suited to the overheated adolescent psyche. Dalí specialized in realistic renderings of the subconscious, fantasy imagery as described and popularized by Freudian psychoanalysis. Like his fellow surrealists, he loved to shock and provoke with his art; what teenager doesn’t want to do the same? I tried to recall that period of my life while visiting “The Imaginative World of Dalí,” an exhibit currently on view at Zygman Voss Gallery.
I still can’t take Dalí very seriously. The symbolism and sexuality of his work is now dated and risible, and his efforts to jolt viewers no longer pack a punch. But when paired with talented craftsmen—like those who wove the four tapestries on display—or a master filmmaker like Buñuel, Dalí’s harlots and demons can still be counted on to dance their merry jigs and entertain our eyes from time to time.
