Starting on June 1 2007 the Tate Modern in London, England, is the host of an exhibition which examines the link between Salvador Dali and film, by means of paintings, photographs, drawings, films made by the artist. It is a first in the line of exhibitions dedicated to the vast work of the Surrealist artist, who himself was passionate about the medium of film, which offered him rich and new means of expressing his ideas.
 | As Dali used to say, "The best cinema is the kind that can be perceived with your eyes closed.". And that is exactly what he tried to do. The exhibition brings together over 100 works from Dali, ranging from paintings - some of them already well-known - to drawings, photographs and films, exploring the key-role that cinema played in his life as inspiration and experiment. The curators have selected works that resulted from the collaborations between Dali and great film makers like Bunuel, Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Marx brothers, many of these impressive, great images depicting the values and projects from the 20th century cinema. Art lovers will thus have the chance of discovering the early projects - such as the collaborations with Bunuel for the movies L'Age d'or or Un Chien andalou - and also later movie projects. |
Besides presenting how Dali approached cinema, the organisers have tried to present how he responded to movies, as cinema was one of his greatest passions, throughout his life. At first he discovered with great enthusiasm the early comedies of Harry Langdon, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, as in this type of humour he discovered many Surrealist elements. For the rest of his life he remained a cinema-fan. Dali also considered this kind of entertainment for the masses a strong reply, almost an attack to the elitist and pretentious high culture.
The exhibition at the Tate Modern is a presentation of one of the many faces of Salvador Dali, creating the chance of discovering the artist like never before. The event is organised by Tate Modern in collaboration with Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali.
Photo : tate.org.uk
June 2007
