While Dali is most widely known as a painter this is not all he did. In this sculpture/ready-made/Earthware, Debris Christ, Dali captures the pain and torment of Jesus as he was crusified. It is plain to see that this resembles a human. The rooted tree as the head, the boat as the body, tree limbs as the arms and a combination of trees and tiles as the legs. But this is supposed to resemble more than just any human, it depicts christ while he is crusified. The body is in a crusifixion pose, with the arms out to the side. Very subtle hints that this is christ also are the roots of the tree that makes the head. They appear to resemble a crown of thorns. As for the meaning behind the actual objects used to make this, it is a small mystery to me, but I do have my theories. The use of the rooted trees could represent the death and decay of christ on the cross. The boat could symbolize that christ is a vessel for all the sins of mankind which he was crusified for. As for the tiles, well, thats anyones guess. I do like this piece and the way that Dali created and depicted this tragic event. His use of objects is ingenious and his vision is truely amazing.

In this painting, Swans Reflecting Elephants, Dali employed his "Paranoic-Critical Method" to produce the double images of the swans reflecting the elephents. As one can plainly see, the bodies, necks and heads of the swans are reflected in the lake to produce the heads and trunks of the elephants. Likewise, the island behind the swans and the fall-inflicted trees reflect the bodies and legs of the elephants. I've always been stumped on this painting. It seems to me, though, that this painting could represent the falsities of modern society. Swans are associated with beauty and elephants are associated with wisdom. It could be saying that beauty imparts wisdom. Of course we know that that is a false statement. I believe that is why Dali, who is pictured in the left corner, has his back turned on it. He knows this to be a flase statement therefore does not wish to partake in viewing such an attrocious concept. There are other elements in this painting which I am unsure of. First, the thing that has always stumped me is what looks like a piece of red cloth dangling from the tree to the far left. Second, the two cloud formations. One appears to be that of a person pondering something. It seems as though this could reflect the viewer of the painting as they look on in unknowing wonder at what this picture is trying to say. The last thing that stumps me about this painting is the creature that appears in the foreground before the lake. It seems as though it is an underdeveloped swan or maybe the "ugly duckling". It seems as though it is trying to be a part of the "group". This could represent the struggle that some people go through in order to "fit in". In the background there is a Catalonian landscape, common to Dali's paintings.

This site is yet another great site to view some of Dali's famous works of art. It has a wide variety of his works. It also has some of his lesser known works. It offers a short explanation of his phases as an artist. The thing I liked the most about this site though, is that for all the works of art that can be viewed, it has some of the shortest loading times. It really is a great site if you wish to browse his works at a speedy pace.

This painting, Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of a New Man, is from Dali's classical phase. This painting reflects the newfound importance America held for the Dali. The man emerging from the “egg” (world) is rising out of the “new” nation, America, which was in the process of becoming a new world power. Africa and South America are both enlarged, representing the growing importance of the Third World, while Europe is being crushed by the man’s hand, indicating its diminishing importance as an international power. The draped cloth below (above?) the egg represents the placenta of the new nation. An androgynous figure points to the emerging man, acknowledging the importance of this new world power. The cowering child at her feet represents the spirit of this new age, and the child casts the longer shadow indicating that he will replace the older age.

This link is good to look at if you want to learn about the movement that evolved into Surrealism. Dadaism was a form of anti-art, if you will, that was created to oppose everything that art stood for. It came into being around the end of World War I. It was to represent and express the confusion still left in peoples minds post-war. Dali dabbled within the realm of Dada but was never widely recognized as a Dadaist. This site has many links which will direct you to other sites which you may use to view some of the artists works. It also gives full explanations of selected works by the artists.

This painting Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by Her Own Chastity is probably one of my favorite by Dali. As simple as it looks there is a lot going on in this picture. The title of this painting correlates well with it. As you can see by looking at the painting a woman is leaning over a rail with horned shaped objects being pointed at her. One of these "horns" has seemed to set itself up as the "sodomizing" one. These "horned shaped objects" also take on the shape of a phallus. The "horns" in this painting are symbollic. According to Robert Redford in his book "Dali", these "menacing" forms that take on the role of sodomizing the woman are indeed rhinoceros horns. It is explained that a rhinoceros is a very forceful animal as well as a very dangerous one. The one thing about a rhinoceros, though, is that they do not attack unless provoked. This adds another element to the painting. If the woman is being sodomized, is it because she brought it upon herself? Maybe thats where the title of the painting comes into play. It could be that because of her own chastity she has brought about its breaking. I also love the way the breaking of her chastity is pictorally shown. The railing which she is bent over takes on the sort of chastity belt. But the prominent phallus has seemed to shatter it.

I found this site and was actually quite pleased at how much information was given. It gives a nice detailed biography of the artist and some other good information as well. There are many nice links to be found on this page. They deal with the other time periods and artistic styles in which Dali studied or was exposed to. There is also a nice timeline which can be found here. The timeline displays, starting with the early Greek settlements, the path in which art has travelled. It shows the changes in the styles, when they took place, and what other movements they paved the way for. Also, on the timeline, there are some links which could not be found on the Dali page.

The Persistence of Memory is one of Dali's most famous and memorable works. He makes a disturbing statement with his use of dreamlike objects dispersed throughout a scene of reality. First off, his statement made with his recurring melting watches, is to say that time must lose all meaning. Another recurring theme in Dali's works are the ants. They represent decay, and when they are attacking a golden watch they become organic. The melting face draped across the center of the piece is a profile of Dali's face. Another real image in this piece are the distant cliffs and coastline which is the coast of Catalonia, Dali's home. One year before this was painted Dali created his Paranoiac-Critical Method, which was formulated by self-induced psychotic hallucinations. According to Dali, "The difference between a madman and me is that I am not mad."

Another good place on the web to learn about the Surrealist movement is right here. This site gives a good account of what the surrealist movement was about. It also explains how its origins can be found within the Dada movement. It goes on to explaine by who and where the movement was found. It also gives a good list of Surrealist painters. Within the list there are links to a biography of each of the artists. Salvador Dali is included in this list. It is possible to view works from each of these artists as well.