Salvador Dali and the Media

Eugenio Salvador Dali i Domenech was considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time and a leader within the Surrealism movement of the 20^th century. Dali was inspired by many different aspects of life, which is demonstrated in his work. One of the many influences of Dali and perhaps one of the most important was his symbiotic relationship with the press mass media. Dali was fascinated by cinema and created a media world of his own, while the press itself was also infatuated by Dali and his work. This codependent relationship is important to both parties in many ways.

In his early years as an artist, Dali was like a sponge; he absorbed many influences and inspirations that he came across. Some of the main influences include, the death of his brother and the death of his mother, sexuality, his muse and wife, Gala, and the avant-garde lifestyle. All of these influences can be seen in his work throughout his career. However, one of the most important and fascinating inspirations was the avant-garde lifestyle that Dali observed when he was in Paris, France. Dali became infatuated with cinema and its ability to create another world that is separate from reality.

Perhaps a more famous cinematic work of Dali is Un Chien Andalou in which he collaborated with famous filmmaker, Luis Bunuel. This short, black and white French film is known for its graphic opening scene in which a human eye is cut open with a knife. This scene is meant to be an interpretation of one of Dali’s poems about the moon. This scene and other elements in the film are all representations of symbolism; that is, they stand for a greater meaning that Dali wanted to convey through cinema in this film. The interesting aspect of the film is that is has no plot. The entire film is a montage of clips that have different representations that are shown together to create a short collage-like film. This is linked with Dali’s obsession with escaping and demonstrating a different world outside of reality and presenting a dreamlike piece of art. This film was widely accepted by the members of the Surrealism movement and also the media.

Salvador Dali was one of the most influential and inspiring artists of his time and continues to have an impact on the art world today.