Salvador Dali - the diary of a genius. Book diary of one genius read online The story of one genius

It’s been a long time since a book stimulated me to vigorous mental activity =0) Salvador, he is Salvador, to save human souls from spiritual laziness!

Specifically, my publication is ed. Art 1991 - very successful, it contains everything that is necessary for an adequate perception of Dali’s revelations, namely, lengthy prefaces by A. Yakimovich with an excursion into Dali’s biography and detailed explanations on the fingers of what dadism, surrealism, and most importantly - Freudianism and Nietzscheanism are, without which would not have existed either surrealism or Salvador Dali. There are also illustrations with reproductions of not only Dali himself, but also other surrealists/Dadaists. AND Applications: Treatise on Farts, Praise of Flies, comparison table values according to Dalian analysis, which compares the talents and geniuses of artists different eras, and a lot more delicious =0)

As an annotation: Diary Dali has no independent literary value, but is valuable only as part of SALVADOR DALI. And Salvador is more than a person, more than a human artist, even more than the sum of all his works. Therefore reading Diary is categorically contraindicated for those who only know about Dali that “there was an artist who painted a melted clock and a burning giraffe.” For people without a sense of humor and who think that a “troll” is some kind of Scandinavian mythical beast, read Diary doubly contraindicated.

Myself Diary very small, only 124 pp. 124 pages, think about it! =0) 124 pages, but it generates a real tsunami of thoughts, ideas, questions, agreements and disagreements, guesses, insights...

It is difficult to attract attention to yourself even for a short time. And I indulged in this activity every day and hour.

Probably the very first and most general thing that can be said about Diary As for the book, this is that it could seriously shock and/or offend someone 50 years ago (first published in 1964), but now such prose can only scare housewives and other bourgeois =0))

In fact, if any of us had the courage to voice at least part of our thoughts, fleeting desires and images, associations that come to mind, it would turn out exactly the same as Dali’s in his Diary. The only difference is in scale and context: if ordinary person strange thoughts and “conjugations of distant ideas” are visited sometimes and occasionally, then Dali reprogrammed all his thinking for the every minute production of paradoxes, reverse symbolic meanings, wild metaphors and all kinds of oxymorons.

The second impression - for all its workmanship Diary produces the illusion of artlessness and improvisation. Some incidents are given a lot of space-text, others are outlined in dotted lines, sometimes records are written for several days in a row, sometimes entire months and years are released. However, when a whole year is missed, the author adds flirtatious notes like “what I was doing, I’ll tell you later” =0)

And now about the main thing =0)

The artist thinks with drawing.

The basis of creativity and life philosophy- 1) Freudianism (the subconscious has more power over a person than the conscious; in order to live happily, one must let out everything irrational) and 2) Nietzscheanism (complete freedom from any social, moral, ethical, historical framework, the concept of a superman) .

Therefore, have at least a superficial understanding of the era (after the First World War - the beginning and formation of creativity), of its predecessors (Dadism), of the ideological and philosophical background (the notorious Freudianism and Nietzscheanism), of colleagues and influences (Picasso, for example). This is in Yakimovich’s prefaces, for those who are interested - there are a bunch of sites on the Internet dedicated to Dali and his work, including some lists and here’s more.

Without the above-mentioned educational program Diary and there is nothing to open, I insist.

I love life obscenely.

A diary is like a splash of champagne New Year=0) overflowing cheerfulness, delight, intoxication with oneself and what one loves, endless declarations of love to his wife, home country, art.. someone will say - pathos and narcissism. Some will say - playing for the public.

I don’t care, in fact =0) it’s just nice to read - without whining, without drama, tears and snot, petty grievances and excuses that are so full of memoir literature. Just for a change - read a diary, the author of which LOVES himself, loves people, his wife, his country, his business. Who enjoys every moment of his life, appreciates every moment, word, sound, image, smell. In some ways it's perfect children's perception world - every little thing is important and beautiful, unique and one of a kind.

I think it was no easier for me to be born than for the Creator to create the Universe. At least he then rested, and all the colors of the world fell on me.

From a “childish” view of the surrounding reality, artistic greed quite naturally grows - when EVERYTHING, literally EVERYTHING visible, tangible, audible, and most of all - the INVISIBLE, INTANGLISH and INAUDIBLE, hidden, internal - becomes fuel for creativity. Dali is absolutely omnivorous. He fundamentally does not limit himself in anything, for him nothing is sacred and everything is sacred. No framework, conventions, ideas about good and evil (“beyond good and evil” - remember? =0)

I saw it and it sunk into my soul and spilled through my brush onto the canvas. This is painting. And the same thing is love.

And here is Hitler, Lenin and this dead fish model, whose scales Dali so carefully depicts on the canvas - all are phenomena of the same order, only some external stimuli that give impetus to his imagination, a push to the first domino - and all the others follow. The greed with which Dali absorbs reality, digests it and spews it back in the form of paintings, engravings, decorations, texts, films, jewelry, photographs is amazing...

Don Quixote was a crazy idealist. I am also a madman, but a Catalan at that, and my madness is not without a commercial streak.

And everything he touches turns into gold =0) Not without the help of his resourceful wife, as we now understand, she was his financial agent and manager and accountant. What is money for Dali?

Even in adolescence, having learned that Miguel de Cervantes, who so glorified Spain with his immortal Don Quixote, himself died in monstrous poverty, and who discovered New World Christopher Columbus died in no less poverty, and, moreover, in prison. Having learned about all this in my adolescence, I, heeding prudence, strongly advised myself to take care of two things in advance:

1. Try to serve time in prison as early as possible. This was done in a timely manner.

2. Find a way to become a multimillionaire without much effort. And this was also accomplished.

The easiest way to avoid compromising on gold is to have it yourself. When there is money, any “service” loses all meaning. The hero serves nowhere! He is the complete opposite of a servant. As the Catalan philosopher Francisco Pujols very accurately noted: “The greatest dream of man in social terms is the sacred freedom to live without having to work.” Dali complements this aphorism, adding that this freedom itself serves, in turn, as a necessary condition for human heroism. Gilding everything around is the only way to spiritualize matter.

Money = creative freedom, i.e. the opportunity to do only what you want - without restrictions, without deadlines, without the need to sell out. Let's be honest, we all envy him for this =0) What did he leave behind? He left himself =0) all of himself, including his own body, his creations, movable property and real estate, to his only heir - Spain.

I declare with full responsibility: I have never joked, I don’t joke and I don’t intend to joke.

Poop, boogers, drool, obsessive desire blow up everything around in order to capture in every detail the scattering offal and blood.. First of all, Dali blows up the brains of those around him like “I took it and took a sip” =0)) Why? because he is a professional troll! Read only his dialogues with innocent citizens:

From time to time, but with stubborn constancy, I come across very elegant, that is, moderately attractive women with an almost monstrously developed coccygeal bone. For many years now, these same women, as a rule, have been eager to get to know me personally. Usually we have a conversation like this:

Coccyx Woman: Of course, I know your name.

Me - Dali: Me too.

Coccyx Woman: You probably noticed that I just couldn’t take my eyes off you. I find you absolutely charming.

Me - Dali: Me too.

Coccyx Woman: Oh, don't be a flatterer! You didn't even notice me.

I-Dali: But I'm talking about myself, madam.

Coccyx Woman: It’s interesting to know how you achieve that your mustache always stands up?

Ya-Dali: These are all dates!

Coccyx Woman: Dates??

Ya-Dali: Yes, yes, dates. Dates are the fruits that grow on palm trees. I order dates for dessert, eat them, and when I finish, before washing my fingers in the bowl, I lightly run them over my mustache. And this is enough for them to keep their shape.

Coccyx Woman: It's shaking!!!

Ya-Dali: This method has one more advantage: all the flies will certainly flock to the date sugar.

Coccyx Woman: What a nightmare!

Ya-Dali: What are you talking about, I just adore flies. I can only feel happy when I'm lying in the sun, completely naked and covered in flies.

Looking at a masterpiece makes me ecstatic about what I can learn.

Dali strives for the ideal like an obsessive, all his activities - eternal search that only divine method/method/technique, which alone will allow you to embody PERFECTION on canvas, i.e. absolutely accurately imprint the artist’s idea on a material medium. It often seems that just about there will be that same divine brush stroke, and it often happens that the picture seems to Dali to be the height of perfection, which could not be done better, but... the next day he gets down to business again and again searches for how perfect, It’s ideal to draw a shadow on a person’s hand, a fold of fabric, a scale on a fish...

*In the coming year, I will become not only the most accomplished, but also the most agile artist in the world.

At one time I thought that it was possible to paint with translucent and very liquid paint, but I was wrong. Ambergris eats liquid paint, and everything immediately turns yellow.

*I’m working on my left thigh again (in the picture - approx.). And again, as soon as it dries, it becomes covered with some stains. You need to treat this place with potatoes, and then boldly and directly, hypercubically rewrite everything, but do not rub or scrape.

When they ask me: “What’s new?”, I answer: “Velasquez! Now and forever.”

Ask anyone" contemporary artist"Where are his roots, start a conversation with him about art and with almost 99% probability you will run into his complete ignorance and exorbitant conceit based on it (no one has ever painted like me!!). But Dali bases his originality on solid foundation - knowledge and respect for the masters of the Renaissance. In fact, if you pay attention to HOW his paintings are written, and not WHAT is depicted there, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, Vermeer immediately come to mind - these names do not leave the pages Diary, he argues with them, studies them, strives to penetrate the secret of their technology, criticizes, analyzes...

*If you refuse to study anatomy, the art of drawing and perspective, the mathematical laws of aesthetics and color, then let me note that this is more a sign of laziness than genius.

*Dismiss me from lazy masterpieces!

*First, learn to draw and write like the old masters, and only then act at your own discretion - and you will always be respected.

Paranoid-critical analysis (method) and Dalianism

In short, Dali’s method was to place something quite ordinary and ordinary in a completely irrational context (a portrait of a girl in a completely Vermeer style - and with a French bun on her head =0)). The surrounding reality was subjected to just such an analysis - dismemberment into simple components (" Lacemaker"Vermeer can be decomposed into "rhinoceros horns", i.e. into curved lines), having symbolic meaning(often understandable only to the artist himself =0))

Dalian = in the spirit of Dalí, i.e. symbolic, mystical, irrational, inexplicable. In general, Dali has a Dalian language - he speaks in wild metaphors, paradoxes and oxymorons, endowing words with his own content, incomprehensible to others. Dali's favorite game is association, illogical leaps of thoughts, ideas and images.

The peculiarity of my genius is that it comes from the mind. Exactly from the mind.

Dali is, in my opinion, the most striking example of a self made man =0) He was not born a brilliant artist(look at him early paintings), but was born with the ability to find an opportunity to make something out of nothing =0)) To some, the Diary will seem like the ravings of a madman, the automatic recitative of a schizophrenic. No.

I'm completely normal. And the one who is abnormal is the one who does not understand my painting, the one who does not like Velasquez, the one who is not interested in what time it is on my smeared dials - after all, they show the exact time.

Dali's language is an ingeniously constructed independent language for expressing everything that is fundamentally inexpressible by ordinary means of human language - the most complex complexes of sensations, tangles of emotions, a tangle of associations, an alloy of ideas/beliefs... in a word, the subconscious, irrational, often “shameful”, everything that You and I are afraid to put it into words.

Results: have it on the shelf next to Secret life Salvador Dali, painted by himself (young Dali) and 50 magical secrets of mastery by his own author.

I dedicate this book to MY GENIUS,

to my victorious goddess GALA GRADIVA,

my HELENA OF TROJAN, my HOLY HELENA,

my brilliant, like the surface of the sea,

GALE GAlatea more serene.

Surrealism and Salvador DALI

"One genius" about himself

Among the written evidence and documents related to the history of art of the 20th century, diaries, letters, essays, interviews in which surrealists talk about themselves are very noticeable. This is Max Ernst, Andre Massoy, Luis Buñuel, and Paul Delvaux - but above all, Salvador Dali.

The traditions of introspective introspection and a kind of “confession” are well developed in the West and play a significant role in the panorama artistic culture at least from Montaigne's Essays to Matisse's articles on his own art. It is no coincidence that we have to name here first of all French names: they really mean both extreme precision in the description of one’s internal movements and aspirations, and a wonderful sense of proportion, harmonious rigor and balance. Let us recall the introspection of Diderot and Stendhal, Delacroix’s “Diary” and agree that this is so.

“The Diary of a Genius” by Salvador Dali was written by a man who spent a significant part of his life in France and formed there as an artist. knew the art and literature of this country well. But his diary belongs to some other world, rather, predominantly fantastic, bizarre, grotesque, where nothing is easier than crossing the line of delirium and madness. The easiest way is to say that all this is the legacy of Catholic mysticism or the “Iberian fury” inherent in the Catalan. But things are not that simple. Many different reasons and circumstances played their role for the “Dali phenomenon” to arise, as we see it in “The Diary of a Genius.”

A diary book is, logically, one of the best ways address the reader with maximum confidence and tell about something deeply personal, while achieving special intimacy and friendly directness. But this is precisely what Dali’s book is not designed for. Rather, it leads to results that are the opposite of sincere mutual understanding. It often even seems that the artist chose the form of confidential confession in order to explode and refute this form and in order to further puzzle, amaze and, moreover, offend and anger the reader. This goal is achieved flawlessly.

First of all, it is achieved by constant, inexhaustibly varied, but always elevated and pathetic self-exaltation, in which there is something deliberate and exaggerated.

Dali often insists on his absolute superiority over everyone the best artists, writers, thinkers of all times and peoples. In this regard, he tries to be as modest as possible, and we must give him his due - here he is at his best. Perhaps, he treats only Rafael and Velazquez relatively leniently, that is, he allows them to take a place somewhere next to him. He unceremoniously disparages almost all the other great people mentioned in the book.

Dali is a consistent representative of radical Nietzscheanism of the 20th century. Unfortunately, it is impossible to consider the issue of Dali’s Nietzscheanism in its entirety here, but we will have to constantly remember and point out this connection. So, even praise and encouragement addressed to Friedrich Nietzsche himself are often similar in the mouth of Dali to the compliments of a monarch to his favorite jester. For example, the artist rather condescendingly reproaches the author of Zarathustra for weakness and unmasculinity. Therefore, mentions of Nietzsche ultimately turn out to be a reason to set himself as an example - Salvador Dali, who managed to overcome all pessimism and become a true winner of the world and people.

Dali condescendingly approves of the psychological depth of Marcel Proust - not forgetting to note that in the study of the subconscious he himself, great artist, went much further than Proust.

Salvador Dali

Diary of a Genius

Surrealism and Salvador Dali

"One genius" about himself

Among the written evidence and documents related to the history of art of the 20th century, diaries, letters, essays, interviews in which surrealists talk about themselves are very noticeable. This is Max Ernst, Andre Masson, Luis Buñuel, and Paul Delvaux - but above all, Salvador Dali.

The tradition of introspective introspection and a kind of “confession” is well developed in the West and plays a significant role in the panorama of artistic culture at least from Montaigne’s Essays to Matisse’s articles on his own art. It is no coincidence that here we have to name French names first: they really mean both extreme precision in describing one’s internal movements and aspirations, and a wonderful sense of proportion, harmonious rigor and balance. Let us recall the introspection of Diderot and Stendhal, Delacroix’s “Diary” and agree that this is so.

“The Diary of a Genius” by Salvador Dali was written by a man who spent a significant part of his life in France, formed there as an artist, and knew the art and literature of this country well. But his diary belongs to some other world, rather, predominantly fantastic, bizarre, grotesque, where nothing is easier than crossing the line of delirium and madness. The easiest way is to say that all this is the legacy of Catholic mysticism or the “Iberian fury” inherent in the Catalan. But things are not that simple. Many different reasons and circumstances played their role for the “Dali phenomenon” to arise, as we see it in “The Diary of a Genius.”

A diary book is, logically, one of the best ways to address the reader with maximum confidence and talk about something deeply personal, while achieving special intimacy and friendly directness. But this is precisely what Dali’s book is not designed for. Rather, it leads to results that are the opposite of sincere mutual understanding. It often even seems that the artist chose the form of confidential confession in order to explode and refute this form and in order to further puzzle, amaze and, moreover, offend and anger the reader. This goal is achieved flawlessly.

First of all, it is achieved by constant, inexhaustibly varied, but always elevated and pathetic self-exaltation, in which there is something deliberate and exaggerated.

Dali often insists on his absolute superiority over all the best artists, writers, thinkers of all times and peoples. In this regard, he tries to be as modest as possible, and we must give him his due - here he is at his best. Perhaps, he treats only Rafael and Velazquez relatively leniently, that is, he allows them to take a place somewhere next to him. He unceremoniously disparages almost all the other great people mentioned in the book.

Dali condescendingly approves of the psychological depth of Marcel Proust - not forgetting to note that in the study of the subconscious he himself, a great artist, went much further than Proust. As for such “little things” as Picasso, Andre Breton and some other contemporaries and former friends, the “king of surrealism” is merciless towards them.

These personality traits - or, perhaps, symptoms of a certain mental state - cause a lot of controversy and speculation about how to understand Salvador Dali's "delusions of grandeur". Did he deliberately put on the mask of a psychopath or did he openly say what he thought?

Most likely, when dealing with this artist and person, one must proceed from the fact that literally everything that characterizes him (paintings, literary works, public actions and even everyday habits) should be understood as a surreal activity. He is very holistic in all his manifestations.

His “Diary” is not just a diary, but a surrealist’s diary, and this is a very special matter.

Truly insane farces unfold before us, which, with rare audacity and blasphemy, tell about life and death, about man and the world. With some kind of enthusiastic shamelessness, the author likens his own family to no more and no less than the Holy Family. His adored wife (in any case, this adoration is constantly declared) plays the role of the Mother of God, and the artist himself plays the role of Christ the Savior. The name “Salvador,” that is, “Savior,” comes in handy in this blasphemous mystery.

Are those critics right who said that Dali chose a special and unique way to remain incomprehensible, that is, he spoke about himself as often as possible, as loudly as possible and without any embarrassment?

Be that as it may, the artist’s diary book is an invaluable source for studying psychology, creative method and the very principles of surrealism. True, it is a special, inseparable and very specific version of this mentality, inseparable from Dali, but in his example the fundamental foundations of the entire “school” are clearly visible.

Dream and reality, delirium and reality are mixed and indistinguishable, so that it is impossible to understand where they merged on their own, and where they were tied together by a skillful hand. Dali enthusiastically talks about his oddities and quirks - for example, about his inexplicable craving for such an unexpected object as an elephant skull. According to the Diary, he dreamed of dotting the seashore not far from his Catalan residence with many elephant skulls, specially imported for this purpose from tropical countries. If he really had such an intention, then it clearly follows that he wanted to turn the piece real world in the likeness of his surreal painting.

Here we should not be satisfied with a simplistic commentary, reducing to delusions of grandeur the idea of remaking a corner of the universe in the image and likeness of a paranoid ideal. This was not just the sublimation of personal mania. Behind it stands one of the fundamental principles of surrealism, which was not at all going to limit itself to paintings, books and other products of culture, but claimed more: to make life.

Of course, the most brilliant of geniuses, the savior of humanity and the creator of a new universe - more perfect than the previous one - is not obliged to obey the customs and rules of behavior of all other people. Salvador Dali strictly remembers this and constantly reminds of his exclusivity in a very unique way: he talks about what is “not customary” to talk about due to prohibitions imposed by shame. With the zeal of a true Freudian, confident that all prohibitions and restraining norms of behavior are dangerous and pathogenic, he consistently violates the “etiquette” of relations with the reader. This is expressed in the form of uncontrollable bravura frankness in stories about the role that certain bodily principles play in his life.

The Diary tells a story about how Dali sketched the naked buttocks of a lady during a social reception where both he and she were guests. The mischief of this narrative cannot, however, be associated with the Renaissance tradition of the life-loving eroticism of Boccaccio or Rabelais. Life, organic nature and human body in Dali’s eyes they do not at all resemble an attribute of the happy and festive fullness of existence: they are, rather, some kind of monstrous hallucinations, inspiring the artist, however, not with horror or disgust, but with an inexplicable frantic delight, a kind of mystical ecstasy.

By diary entries Dali passes through a continuous refrain of evidence of physiological functions his Organism, that is, what is called in medical language digestion, defecation, flatulence and erection. And these are not just side antics that you can ignore. He speaks about his sacred inner and lower parts on the same sublime notes in which he speaks about the mysteries of the Universe or the postulates of the Catholic Church.

From the “Diary”, like from a Dali painting, not a single detail can be thrown away.

Why is this enfant terrible acting up? Why is this being done - is it really just for the pleasure of teasing and angering the reader?

"One genius" about himself

Among the written evidence and documents related to the history of art of the 20th century, diaries, letters, essays, interviews in which surrealists talk about themselves are very noticeable. This is Max Ernst, Andre Masson, Luis Buñuel, and Paul Delvaux - but above all, Salvador Dali.

First of all, it is achieved by constant, inexhaustibly varied, but always elevated and pathetic self-exaltation, in which there is something deliberate and exaggerated.

Most likely, when dealing with this artist and person, one must proceed from the fact that literally everything that characterizes him (paintings, literary works, public actions and even everyday habits) should be understood as surrealistic activity. He is very holistic in all his manifestations.

His “Diary” is not just a diary, but a surrealist’s diary, and this is a very special matter.

Dream and reality, delirium and reality are mixed and indistinguishable, so that it is impossible to understand where they merged on their own, and where they were tied together by a skillful hand. Dali enthusiastically talks about his oddities and quirks - for example, about his inexplicable craving for such an unexpected object as an elephant skull. According to the Diary, he dreamed of dotting the seashore not far from his Catalan residence with many elephant skulls, specially imported for this purpose from tropical countries. If he really had such an intention, then it clearly follows that he wanted to turn a piece of the real world into a semblance of his surrealist painting.

The Diary tells a story about how Dali sketched the naked buttocks of a lady during a social reception where both he and she were guests. The mischief of this narrative cannot, however, be associated with the Renaissance tradition of the life-loving eroticism of Boccaccio or Rabelais. Life, organic nature and the human body in Dali’s eyes do not at all resemble an attribute of the happy and festive fullness of being: they are, rather, some kind of monstrous hallucinations, inspiring the artist, however, not with horror or disgust, but with an inexplicable frantic delight, a kind of mystical ecstasy.