I have been reading on Dali and how the public greeted him. Half the time they believed him to be certifible the other half the time believed he was making it up.
So whats your opinion, was the artist clinically nuts or was he a great artist who came up with a ingenious way to market himself and his art?
Art-History-degreed Wife sez, “Put on.”
Artistically-trained Gaudere sez: nuts. Not quite as nuts as he would have you believe–definitely loved his rep and encouraged it, a major publicity hound–but I read some about his early life and he was messed up from way back.
Except for a loss of lucidity after his wife died (where he tried to dehydrate himself, believing it would “preserve” him forever) I think most agree he was eccentric and eclectic, but not insane.
Well, not completely insane, I agree; just whacked in the head. But I don’t buy that it was all an act; if so, he kept that act up with perfect consistency all his life.
A number of years ago I went to the Dali museum in Florida, where I heard the story that Dali’s sister once gave an interview saying that his behavior was an act put on for publicity purposes. Supposedly Dali never talked to her again after the interview because he was so pissed off with her.
I can’t say anything for the accuracy of the story, but I liked it. Whether he was a true whacko or not, he definately had an ego larger than the solar system.
“…the sole difference between me and a madman is the fact that I am not mad!” - Dali
I think he was not so much acting, as allowing his eccentric and provocative nature to take over his persona. When he realized that he got a reaction from the public, he simply increased his ‘madness’ for the pleasure of attention (good or bad). He once carried a bell with him while walking the streets of NYC and when he felt people were not giving him enough attention, he would ring it. - JC
Both.
Genius is always a little strange. They see the everthing differently than the rest of the world. Almost by definition this is insanity. However, Dali exploited this to garner more attention.
Didn’t he have an older brother named Salvador Dali who died before he was born? And didn’t his parents merely act like HE was the ‘original’ after his older brother died?
–Tim