Sunday, April 25, 2010

"DA-DA": The Persistence of Time (Memory).

"I wasted time, and now doth time waste me" - Richard II, Act v, Scn. Ii, these words by William Shakespeare pose as great example to the effects one has on time and vice-versa. These two paintings by Salvador Dali, entitled The Persistence of Time (Memory) have the unique "da-da" quality to them. "da-da" refers to the surreal dadaism technique of art, including mostly paintings along with collages and photomontages.
Dadaism had started in Europe during this time between the wars as an art movement with the number one goal to discard everything that was standard about culture. Dadaists had no common or particular point and no specific motive, there single aim was to reject all that was prevailing.
I remember when I was studying art in my middle school class and Mr. Kaufman, the eccentric art instructor, had given us a Dadaism assignment. I loved it! it was the most fun and surreal painting I have ever painted. yes, it was at the middle school level, but it still captured Salvador Dali's "da-da" characteristics.

Upon researching Dadasim, I found out that though Dadaism was primarily related to the art movement, its
 photography counterpart came via FASHION! At this time in the fashion world, Dadaist techniques helped photographers to create odd sets, along with experimenting with unique and illusive lighting arrangements.    


No comments:

Post a Comment