Paranoid Critical Salvador Dali Retrospective in Madrid

Dalí: All of the poetic suggestions and all of the plastic possibilities

April 27 - September 2, 2013 at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid

'I don't do drugs. I am drugs.' - Salvador Dali 

Through a selection of over two hundred works (paintings, sculptures, drawings...) organized into eleven sections that follow something of a chronological order, this exhibition encourages visitors to rethink the place occupied by Salvador Dalí in the history of 20th century art, suggesting that his importance as a figure and his legacy stretch beyond his role as the architect of surrealism. The exhibition – the subtitle of which comes from his article "San Sebastián" (1927) which constituted his first artistic manifesto – examines how this controversial and prolific creator, of unmatched imagination, was capable of generating perturbing art that speaks directly to spectators. An art that, reflecting the scientific discoveries of the times, explores and expands the boundaries of consciousness and of sensorial and cognitive experience.

'All of the poetic suggestions and all of the plastic possibilities' presents Dalí as an omnivorous and visionary artist who used himself as an object of study, and whose actions in the public arena, whether calculated or improvised, made him an essential figure in the sphere of contemporary representation. The exhibition focuses primarily on his surrealist period. Special attention is devoted to his paranoid-critical method, which he developed as a mechanism for the transformation and subversion of reality, allowing the final interpretation of a work to depend totally on the viewer. Dalí's works in connection with the painting The Angelus (1857-59) by Jean-François Millet – which the Catalan artist went so far as to describe as the richest pictorial work in unconscious thoughts to have ever existed – is where this method reached its highest expression.

The works on display, which begin with a selection of the pieces that Dalí created at the beginning of his career and during his time at the Student Residence of Madrid (including some of his early self-portraits and drawings from the series Los Putrefactos – The Putrid), also contain references to his mystical and nuclear stage (in which religious and scientific themes predominate) and to some of his set design projects (his collaborations with filmmakers such as Buñuel, Hitchcock and Walt Disney, his stage designs for ballets and plays...). At the same time, it takes a critical look at his role as an agitator of the masses and as a media showman, it dedicates a specific section to his autobiographical book The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (an effective symbiosis of the Dalí the illustrator and Dalí the writer) and it shows how from the 1970s to the end of his career his fascination with science and technology led him to explore new languages such as stereoscopy and holography.

'Instead of stubbornly attempting to use surrealism for purposes of subversion, it is necessary to try to make of surrealism something as solid, complete and classic as the works of museums.' - Salvador Dali 

Spain's Sunday News: Dalí, Photos, DNA, Music and Money, Money, Money, Money

Dalí Photos - El Pais announced today that Salvador Dalís former photographer and personal assistant, Robert Descharnes, is exhibiting 147 of the thousands of photos he took of Dalí and his muse, Gala, at the Municipal Museum of Cadaqués until January of next year. The photos focus on the Catalan artist's relationship with the coastal town and the nearby village of Port Lligat.

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The 83 year old French photographer said he is computerizing and cataloguing the more than 60,000 photographs that he took of Dalí and Gala over 40 years of friendship with the couple.

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Note: this photo (Dalí with ocelot) was not taken by Robert Descharnes, but by Roger Higgins.

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Dalí DNA - Descharnes revealed to El Pais that he has provided samples of Dalí's DNA to American scientific experts for the purpose of obtaining the genetic map of the surrealist icon. He apparently obtained the samples from the tubes inserted into Dalí's nose when the painter was last hospitalized. Descharnes claims that due to Dalí's genius a study of his DNA would contribute much to science.

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Test for buskers - Musicians now have to pass a test in order to perform in the Metro, Barcelona's subway system. El Pais reported that some 80 musicians auditioned yesterday before officials of the Street Musicians Association of Barcelona (Amuc BCN) and the Barcelona Transportation Metropolitan agency for permission to perform in Metro stations and trains. "The objective is to guarantee minimum standards," stated Hugo Guerrero, president of Amuc.

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Until now, permission to perform was given to anyone who registered with Amuc. Esther Ayala of TMB explained that the audition was organized because the previous system did not work well, which resulted in people who did not really know how to play or sing performing.

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Reportedly many of those who tried out yesterday were Latin-American guitarists and Eastern-European accordionists and the most were successful in their bids. "Between 85% and 90% were approved," according to Guerrero.

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Have you seen any 500 euro bills lying around? Apparently there are over 113 million of them in Spain, worth over 56,529 million euros, but they aren't seen very often. Spain's Tax Office has been has been investigating the situation for years, but to little avail. In fact, this past May a record number of 500 euro bills in circulation was reached, according to the Bank of Spain -- 64,3% of the total currency in Spain!

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Spaniards humorously refer to the bank notes as "Bin Ladens" because hardly anyone claims to have seen one. El Pais noted that over the past year the number of 200 euro notes in circulation has increased, too -- from 19 to 21 million.

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What do you think is going on?!