Thursday, February 10, 2011

Salvador Dali sets new record at Christies Surreal Day at the Beach

Salvador Dalí's "Etude Pour 'Le Miel Est Plus Doux que le Sang'" sold for $6,561,070, a record for the artist. (Surreal Day at the Beach)
LONDON— Though lacking firepower on par with the blockbuster Picasso its arch-rival Sotheby's had on Tuesday evening, Christie's knocked down a marathon evening sale in London that tag-teamed Impressionist and Modern Art with the "Art of the Surreal" to bring in a market-assuring $136,316,959 (£84,879,800). That tally overshot the £72.5 million low presale estimate, but fell shy of the £107.1 million high estimate.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Lady Gaga borrows ideas from Salvador Dali and his wife GALA

Interesting, Lady Gaga who's real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, chose her name after the Queen song, Radio Gaga, but it is interesting that her name is similar to the wife of Salvador Dali. Dali was married to Gala, a self proclaimed fashion designer. Here is an example of "Gala's" fashion, notice how similar it is to Lady Gaga:


Gala with her Unicorn headdress


Lady Gaga with her Antler Headdress

Notice some of the head gear or fashion Lady Gaga wears in public and on stage, it is very similar to hats and fashion created by Gala, Dali's wife. In addition to the similarities between Gala and Lady Gaga, the use of a piano with legs fashioned after the stork legged elephants in many of Dali's works like the famous "Temptation of St. Anthony" seen here
Here is Lady Gaga's use of the long skeleton legs we see on the elephants and horses in the image:

 
and then the recent image of her wearing a telephone on her head, and the famous meat jacket make it clear that she is inspired by and pays homage to the last master of the 20th Century, Salvador Dali.
The meat or flesh dress she wore to an awards show was taken from another designers idea from the 1980s, but look at all the similarities between Gaga's designs and Dali's. Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli created many of the ideas Lady Gaga has been using for the past few years.

Dali's Lobster Telephone Lady Gaga's Lobster...uh..well Hat? Mask? thing...

Lady Gaga's Telephone Hat and some examples of Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli designs.

Lady Gaga's Meat/Flesh dress, taken from another designers ideas back in the 1980's
There are many other examples, even the bubble dress is similar to a bubble dress from another designer and a jacket Dali designed that is covered in cups or glasses.

Dali and Brigitte Bardot back in the 1960's, notice the Hat, almost looks like something
we might see on Lady Gaga?

Before her music career took off, Lady Gaga went to art school in NY.

This could be the place she saw works by Dali and his wife Gala and was inspired to
borrow the ideas for her own use. While some say the Queen song Radio Gaga is the 
originof her name, It seems the name Gaga was an interpretation of 
Salvador Dali's wife's name Gala. 

In addition, Dali used to like to show up in public wearing a 
full diving outfit with heavy bell helmet, or perhaps take a walk with an 
anteater or some other unusual animal on a leash. The public was
shocked of course and the events wound up in the news back 
in the 1960's and 70's.  Another similarity is the "vessel" Gaga emerged from
at the Music Awards, Dali and his wife Gala broke out of a giant egg (same shape
as the vessel) on the beach in Spain and poured red paint on the shore while talking
about the rebirth of surrealism, thus the egg. 

Lady Gaga seems to have latched on to the idea and attempts to 
shock the public at any opportunity.
It would be nice if she would give credit where credit is due and mention 
Dali's name every now and again.

Your comments are welcome!

*Update: Since the posting of this blog, Lady Gaga has mentioned Dali 
and his wife Gala on various tv and radio shows ranging from 
Jay Leno to Ryan Seacrest. Salvador Dali himself also borrowed from other
artists, but he always gave them credit. :) 

UPDATE: As of the posting of this blog post back in 2011, quite a few agencies and individuals have shared my original content and not given any credit. I was in the Dali Business, I spoke to Lady Gaga before her name was Lady Gaga. I originated all the ideas in this blog as a result of being in the industry while Lady Gaga was forming her original ideas about Dali. If you are going to steal my content, please simply place a link back to this blog and let readers know where the information originated. Thank you. 

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Salvador Dali Fantastic Voyage Film connection

The 3D remake of iconic 1966 sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage is to be directed by The Night Of The Museum director Shawn Levy. The original movie was directed by Harry Kleiner, and was based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. It inspired an animated television series, a Salvador Dalí painting of the same name, as well as an Isaac Asimov novelisation.

Deadline.com reports that the new film will follow the same story as the original: a team of scientists shrink themselves and enter a colleague’s body in order to save him from a blood clot.

However, in the new version once the scientists enter the body the film will be almost exclusively CGI. Avatar director James Cameron is signed on to produce.
It's rumored that Hugh Jackman could be about to sign on to play the lead. He’s due to star in the Levy-directed Real Steel in October, and the pair are reportedly looking to work together on an "untitled action/adventure project".

The original "Fantastic Voyage" inspired Salvador Dali to create an interpretation
of the film as an original painting.


After seeing Raquel Welch in the film, it's no surprise Dali wanted to meet her.


The original Painting: "Fantastic Voyage"

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Dali Museum Tampa Bay Arts Scene written by Denise Gabbard

Tampa Bay Arts Scene....Really!


The Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area is drawing art lovers from all over the country, in many cases even from around the world. Why, you ask? It’s because the area is now host to a string of trendy new galleries and museums that house must-see collections, and still have time to work on your tan.

Dali Museum
St. Petersburg boasts the new $36 million Salvador Dali Museum that has replaced the old museum and doubled the space. This is considered the most comprehensive collection of Dali’s work, even more so than the Dali Theater and Museum in his native Figueres, Spain. The original museum was founded in 1980 by an Ohio couple, A. Reynolds and Eleanor Reese Morse that donated the lion’s share of the Dali pieces. They started collecting when they got married in 1942 and amassed almost 100 of his works, and also met and became friends with Dali and his wife Gala.

The new museum, which had its grand opening the first week of January, sits above Tampa Bay and even lured Spanish realty to the Bay area for the party. It is a stunning piece of architecture, a sleek building made of concrete and waves of glass paneling that changes color with the sunshine. In the gift shop, you can find signature things like melting wristwatches that made Dali so famous as an eccentric artist.

Chihuly Collection

Dale Chihuly is a master glass worker, and the Morean Arts Center is hosting an exhibit of his works. At the Chihuly Collection, there are studio edition glass works available for sale. Also at the Morean Arts Center, you will find workshops, a glass studio, and other art classes. There are also lots of other exhibits. Currently there are several pertaining to the state of Florida: Paradise Lost/Paradise Found and Disappearing Florida.

Tampa Museum of Art

In February 2010, Tampa welcomed its new Museum of Art in the downtown theater district on Gasparilla Avenue. The museum is a $33 million building that houses permanent collections including Greek and Roman antiquities, American modernist and realist paintings, photography, and sculpture. The museum will also host a Degas exhibition from March 12 till June 19, 2011. Degas: Form, Movement and the Antique will bring a number of the French artist’s paintings, drawings, and sculptures that examined the relationship between his two dimensional works and sculpture, during a period when he explored movement and form. This exhibition will closely complement the permanent collection at the Tampa Museum of Art of the Greek and Roman antiquities that influenced Degas from his familiarity with the Louvre collections.

St. Pete Museum of Fine Arts

Renovated and expanded in 2008, the Museum of Fine Arts has a comprehensive collection of art pieces, ranging from antiquities to current day works. The current presentation is Romantics to Moderns, and it is billed as an important survey of watercolors and drawings from the UK. This exposition is lent to the museum from the Collection of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, and runs from January 22, 2011 to May 1, 2011. It is based on 70 drawings and watercolors by 48 British artists, each of them completed between the late 1700’s and early 1900’s.
As you can see, the Tampa area is no longer just a mecca for beach-goers, but it is also developing a thriving arts community. When planning a visit to the area, leave yourself a few days to check out the galleries and museums. You will not be disappointed.
This guest post was written by Denise Gabbard,
Chief of Marketing for artGalore

Friday, January 28, 2011

Actor Alan Cumming to play Salvador Dali in upcoming film

Actor Alan Cumming to play Salvador Dali in upcoming film


Alan Cumming, who’s currently playing against type as a ruthless campaign manager on The Good Wife, will play
Salvador Dali in an upcoming film.

The movie, directed by Australian Philippe Mora, will start shooting this summer, and it will be in 3D—the first time (we know of) that the technology will be used for a film focused on art instead of action.

Because it’s a film about Dali, one of (it not the) greatest surrealist artist, it won’t be your average biopic, but instead “a series of dream-like, fantasy sequences intersected with reality, [that are] profoundly evocative of Dali’s art.”

As the last few films were shot down for being inacurate portrayals of Dali,
It will be interesting to see if this makes the cut.
It is time for a film that depicts Dali in his true light, as the Master of Surrealism.

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