Knowing Imagination

Today, Sunday, May 11, 2008, would be the 104th birthday of Salvador Dali if he were still alive.  He died in 1989 but his work is still highly recognized and admired.

His work was influenced by Sigmund Freud’s work on the subconscious, published around the 1920’s, and he was a member of the Surrealists, a group of artists in Paris around the same time who emphasized the unconscious over reason.

I had the good fortune to be present at the opening of a show of his in New York 30 or 40 years ago where he was present. Although I do not remember him as large in physical stature, I clearly recall his enormous charisma as he entered the room in his black, crimson-lined cape and walking stick. I often now wish I had the temerity then to approach him. I cherish the memory of that event.

Read about Dali at Britannica.com.

Read about Dali at Wikipedia.