In the 20 years of the last century, a new direction in the visual arts was formed in France - surrealism. Its main essence was a departure from naturalism. The transmission of the essence of man and the surrounding world was carried out not through logical images, but through paradoxes and illusions. The confusion of visions, hidden meaning, parallel worlds, the transmission of one's vision of the world through the prism of oblivion filled the space of artistic canvases. Cognition was carried out not according to the laws of physics, but on the level of intuition.
The brightest artist of surrealism
One of the most prominent representatives of surrealism is the Spanish artist Salvador Dali. At the beginning of 2014, an exhibition of his works was held in Moscow. This event has become one of the most striking events of spring.
A genius was born in 1904 in Spain, in the town of Figueres. At 10, a talented boy showed interest in creativity, and at 15 he held his first art exhibition.
He joined the movement of irrationality in 1929. Dali made a great contribution to the development of painting methods, which he himself called paranoid-critical, or methods of spontaneous cognition.
The Salvador Dali exhibition in Moscow and St. Petersburg introduced visitors to bizarre images in the artist’s paintings, which border on sleep and reality, blur the line between consciousness and oblivion.
Dali believed that surrealism is the most truthful genre, since in a state of semi-unconsciousness the mind is freed from social taboos and is able to show its truth.
Dali fest
In order for everyone to touch the symbolism of the images of surrealism, to try to learn the magical meaning of things, to arouse intuitive, unconscious feelings, on May 21-25, 2014, the Salvador Dali festival was held in Moscow under the name Dali Fest.
Authors and sponsors approached the project organization on a large scale. Visitors were expected not only paintings by the famous artist, but also a demonstration of films, show programs, contests, review lectures and master classes.
At the festival, many surrealistic paintings were exhibited. Salvador Dali in Moscow and St. Petersburg competed with modern art masters.
The famous works of Dali, who participated in the exhibition: "Hitler's riddle" (1937), "The Dark Game" (1929), "Dream" (1937), "The Great Masturbator" (1929), "Hallucinogenic Torrero" (1968-1970), The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946) and others.
The plots of genius paintings are diverse in their essence and content. They cover almost all relevant topics: starting with man as a small element of being and ending with the global foundations of the universe. Favorite topics of Salvador Dali were Nazism, the atomic bomb, civil revolutions, the secret meaning of life, sexual revolution, the Catholic faith, science.
Project objectives
The main goals announced by the founders of the festival were to popularize the work of Dali, an ingenious and extraordinary representative of surrealism, strengthen inter-regional and international cultural ties, search for new talents and fresh ideas among the participants of the event, strengthen the status of Moscow as one of the largest centers of world culture.
One of the main ideas of the event was to increase the creative level of the population and improve the quality of youth's free time, filling their leisure with decent activities, distracting young people and representatives of the older generation from gray life and everyday life.
Venue Dali Fest
The Salvador Dali Spring Festival in Moscow was held at the Fabrika ’site of the Center for Creative Industries, which, since 2005, has been providing its territory with all kinds of creative workshops and art studios. Also, various art projects are often held here: exhibitions, festivals, master classes, competitions and shows. In addition to short-term events, long-term programs also work fruitfully under the roof of the city center.
The Salvador Dali Festival in Moscow, the Factory, was hosted from Tuesday to Sunday, from 12-00 to 20-00, at 18 Perevedenovsky Lane. Let's hope this is not the last event of this scale and direction.
Salvador Dali Festival in Moscow - results and future plans
Judging by the feedback of visitors and publications in the press, the organizers of the project managed to interest people with the novelty and inviolability of the program. In addition to curious visitors, the festival received more than 300 participants - both Russians and foreigners. These were photographers, illustrators, painters and sculptors, theater artists, psychologists and many others.
In total, Salvador Dali's exhibition in Moscow presented 63 surrealistic paintings. The festival held more than 25 cultural, entertainment and popular science events - installation of organized chaos, images created by Dali, ideas of aesthetic madness.
Inspired by the general atmosphere of creativity, visitors willingly took part in competitions and educational master classes.
The organizers of the festival officially promised to implement new shocking projects.