Surrealism might be one of my favorite things across the arts. It takes a certain flavor of imagination to create something so unexpected and complex. Even when he painted in a more traditional style (like the baskets of bread, or his portraits of Gala) there’s something more than meets the eye. We did a guided group tour of the museum yesterday and got a perspective on Dali that helped me understand the depth of his creativity more than I ever had before.
The museum itself he built as a way of preserving his works for eternity, and also to be buried among them. He’s certainly among the geniuses that come around rarely, and it’s impressive that so many of his works survived as much as they did: Two world wars, a civil-war, and a brutal dictatorship. (It probably helped that he was, improbably, a royalist who supported Franco. His politics, it seems, were as complicated as his art, but unfortunately much more problematic.)
More than a collection and permanent gallery, it is a monument to himself, his passions, and the influence of his wife and muse, Gala. There are so many configurations of architectural features aligned with art that are simply staggering to wrap your mind around. A geodesic dome tops the center room framed by windows which reflect the dome to appear as an eye when viewed from inside. From the outside, the same windows change the painting opposite the window to create optical illusions of passageways between the floors. Like many of his paintings, you begin to question how it looked before you could see it another way.
If you’ve ever seen the melting clocks in Persistence of Memory it is well worth your time to visit and explore the mind that created it.
After the museum we went to a beach near L’Escala called Platja Portitxol (platja is Catalan for beach). It’s tucked into a small cape bounded by rocky outcroppings. The beach was filled with tide pools and we even met an octopus! László named it Octo. We wrapped up a very long day with a late (though maybe fashionably Spanish) dinner at Restaurant Hostal Empuries, directly off the beach, quite delicious and fortunately convenient because we had some hangry humans onboard. The rooms at the hotel it’s part of seemed pretty reasonable, too, if you’re looking for somewhere a little off the worn path but camping isn’t your bag.
That about wraps it up for day two. We’re having a blast and very proud with out more advanced traveler now that he’s 7 years old.
