Monday, 11 May 2015

Dali at eleventy-one...


Had Salvador Dalí not died at the age of 84 in 1989, he would have been 111 today. Yes, Eleventy-One - what a surreal age.

Since I was a boy Dali has held a fascination for me. It isn’t simply his mastery of painting, it’s his mind, the way he thinks, and how he starts off at one point and ends up at a completely different destination altogether, a destination that is altogether strange.

I find it hard to talk about Dali in the past tense. He’s all around me in everything I think and do. Of course I don’t possess his talent or his great showmanship. I’m not a master in every aspect of art from theater design through to poetry, photography, performance, and all the other areas he was simply a master of. 

Tricia's brown-eyed version
No, I’m really just a small bug of a Dali crawling across an infinite desert watched by an eye with a curled and tweaked moustachioed slash; as you can see from the image I have created for this most auspicious of days.

No, I'm no Dali, but in everything I do I ask: ‘How would Dali see this? What would his reaction be?’ And this consideration makes me feel special - like he was.

Happy Eleventy-first birthday Salvador may you have many more of them.
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21 comments:

  1. akh12 May 2015 at 07:01

    Sue Mcnally on FB
    oh well done with the ants

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    Replies
    1. akh12 May 2015 at 07:02

      Andrew Height
      Dali would have loved computer composite enhanced images. Surrealism in minutes instead of days. Like Hockney.

      Delete
    2. akh12 May 2015 at 07:02

      Sue Mcnally
      im sure he would, i love surrealism and Salvador Dalí

      Delete
    3. akh12 May 2015 at 07:03

      Andrew Height
      I sometimes think that Dali was Breugel reincarnated.

      Delete
    4. akh12 May 2015 at 07:03

      Sue Mcnally
      did he believe in reincarnation? there is a Breugel in Manchester art gallery and as a manchester resident you can request to have a private viewing

      Delete
    5. akh12 May 2015 at 07:04

      Andrew Height
      Thanks Sue I didn't know that. A definite be doing it.

      Delete
    6. akh12 May 2015 at 07:05

      Andrew Height
      How do I go about asking for a viewing Sue?

      Delete
  2. akh12 May 2015 at 07:04

    Tricia Kitt on FB
    did you really? I love that (brown eyes are of course nicer, but not so artistic)

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    Replies
    1. akh12 May 2015 at 07:06

      Andrew Height
      It is just a composite Tricia. Four images from the web, enhance and manipulated into one. Fifteen minutes work. Technology is so full of freedom.
      .

      Delete
    2. akh12 May 2015 at 07:07

      Andrew Height Here you go Tricia. Sometimes I wonder why I still bother to get my brushes out.
      Andrew Height's photo.

      Delete
  3. akh12 May 2015 at 07:05

    Neil Barrett on FB
    Now I definitely belive in God.

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    Replies
    1. akh12 May 2015 at 07:06

      Neil Barrett I think Breugel's paintings give you a rare glimpse of what medieval life must of been like for the average person. like the wedding party .

      Delete
    2. akh12 May 2015 at 07:07

      Andrew Height Check out the movie Neil.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIJZgJuqoUI

      The Mill and the Cross (official trailer)
      Now on DVD & Blu-ray at http://www.kin...
      YOUTUBE.COM

      Delete
  4. akh12 May 2015 at 07:08

    Sue Mcnally on FB
    Omg I miss my mac grr

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    Replies
    1. akh12 May 2015 at 07:08

      Andrew Height
      PC laptop Sue. Twelve years old,

      Delete
  5. akh12 May 2015 at 07:09

    Steve Wilson on FB
    My English classroom at school had several Dali prints on the wall (swans and metamorphosis) that I would spend all of the lessons starring at. The older I get the more I think my English teacher was doing the same...

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    Replies
    1. akh12 May 2015 at 07:10

      7 hours ago · Like

      Andrew Height
      You can lose yourself in his paintings Steve.

      Delete
  6. akh12 May 2015 at 07:09

    John Armstrong on fB
    Dali would have loved computer art. Dali is one of my favorites.

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    Replies
    1. akh12 May 2015 at 07:10

      Andrew Height
      I think that he would too John

      Delete
  7. akh13 May 2015 at 08:25

    Alan Buckley on FB
    Andy, love the painting and the sentiment! The Breugel film looks fantastical, dark and moody. I would to have spent time in Breugel's mind. His paintings, as I'm sure you know, inspired many designers of Tarot decks with their imagery. Hope you are well btw? We've been a bit tied up with our recent move. Not only do we look alike, but your letter 'A' in your signature is identical to mine!

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    Replies
    1. akh13 May 2015 at 08:26

      Thanks Alan it sounds like your adventure goes well. Yes, I knew about the Tarot and Breugel must have been a force to reckon with. He and Bosch were what got me interested, Dali and the other surrealists came later - but not much. The film is uncomfortable. It is an empty drone on life within a terrible environment. Rutger Haur plays Breugel brilliantly and the images are breathtakingly disturbing. Anyway, go forwards in faith and I am pleased you like my image. I dragged it from my subconscious - as you know more than most.

      Delete

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