Dalinian Symbolism and Distortion

This paper discusses the symbols used by Salvador Dali in his surrealistic art and how they represent contemporary issues. It explores the meaning behind the melting clocks, eggs, angels, ants, and more.

Running head: DALINIAN SYMBOLISM AND DISTORTION
DALINIAN SYMBOLISM AND DISTORTION
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The aim of this paper is to discuss the symbols used by the surrealistic artist of the
twentieth century Salvador Dali and how his arts have represented the contemporary issues
through dream like portray of different objects. Salvador Dali is a classical painter as well as
illustrator. He has particulate affinity for various types of art forms starting academically
classic to the Avant grade. His each and every art work has combined the modernist and
classical techniques that create more realistic and traditional paintings. Dali’s art drew from
everyday life as well as extracted seemingly arbitrary things like infinite desert plain,
bicycles, telephones and marble statues. All of the objects used by the artist in his own art
works have their roots to the personal fear as well as fantasies. In various mediums, the artist
have explored his fantasies. Dali in every of his works in any medium has used these types of
symbols so that these provide more significant message of the painting. The element of being
hard outside and soft inside is the main theme of all his paintings. This indoor and outdoor
contrast is a consistent matter in the works of Dali that connects the psychological notion that
the individuals develop defenses all around the vulnerable psyche. Dali’s work has been
mostly influenced by the study of Freud as well as his followers. It is the iconography that
has absolutely no tinge of psychoanalytic thought.
This essay will be discussing the symbol in five most important paintings of Salvador
Dali and find out what he had meant through these symbols and connected those absurd
symbols with the reality. His six important art works are ‘The Elephants’, ‘Galatea of the
Spheres’, ‘Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man’, ‘The Persistence of
Memory’, ‘Ship with Butterfly Sails’ and ‘The Ants’. These artworks are consisted of some
of Dali’s most important and frequently used symbols hence each of these symbols must be
understood to capture the idea of the painter.
The symbol of melting clocks are found in most of the Dali’s paintings. According to
the artist, it is the representative of the omnipresence of time and identify the mastery of time

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over the human beings. The metaphysical image of time that devours itself as well as
everything else is perfectly presented here. To the artist, it is the materialization of time that
is always flexible and indivisible of space, time is like fluid which is repented by Dali
through the soft melting watches or clocks. This is also representative of the psychological
aspect through which the speed of time though accurate in the scientific manner can be seen
perfectly by the human being as different individuals have different perceptions of time.
In Dali’s paintings, the importance of egg has covered an important position. It is the
Christian symbol of the act of resurrection of Christ as well as the emblem of the perfection
and purity. This biblical connotation has been associated with the previous life, rebirth and
intrauterine. It is one of the favorite motif used by Dali with all its appearance and minerality.
It is the representative of the duality of the hard exterior as well as soft interior of the eggs.
Dali has connected the egg to the pre natal images where the idea of birth in the woman’s
womb is woven. It is also related with the intra-uterine universe hence is a symbol of love as
well as hope (Dali 1971). Again like egg, the images of bread is used by Dali but not as a
food item but the representative of his fear to be running out. Bared is an important image in
the works of Dali In his paintings, breads are again melting that is opposing the idea of
melting soft clock.
In the paintings of Salvador Dali, the icons of angels cover an important place. This is due to
the fact that they have the power of penetrating the heavens, communicate with the gods
guide the humanity. These power factors along with the mystical union and accomplish what
is ordered by the gods had concerned the painter. These angels in the works of Dali, often
refers to the works of gala and incarnation but for Dali these are representative of purity,
nobility. The crutch in the hands of angles are featured in many of Dali’s works. This the first
and foremost symbol that represent reality. It is the anchor that connects the divinity with the
real world, capable of providing physical as well as spiritual support for inadequacy in the

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lives. The crutch in the hands of angels represent the symbol of tradition that upholds the
essential human values.
The symbol of ant is another important reference to Dali’s idea of death and decay.
The idea of shell is applied in this symbol also. It has originated from the incident in the
painter’s childhood when he saw an insect eaten by ants leaving nothing but its shell. The
swarming ant in the picture of Dali along with his sculptures. These are remainders of human
morality as well as impermanence. It is also the representative of overwhelming sexual
desire. Hence in Dalian works, ants are being associated with the symbol of ephemeral and
decadence. Along with the ants, the image of grasshopper is a repetitive symbol in the
painting of Dali that represents his fear (Rentzou 2018). This may be the agility and
valuelessness of the insect which made the painter think about it and present these factors in
his works.
The idea of shell is represented in the oursin images where the exoskeleton or the
shell outside the body can be disturbing with the bristles or thorns. The shell of sea urchin
therefore appears in many of his paintings and so also the image of snails. This latter one
occupies an essential place in Dali’s universe. This is due to the fact that it is inked with an
important event of the life of Dali (Rothman 2016). To him it is the moment he met Sigmund
Freud and found a snail on his bicycles. He immediately associated the snail with the human
head and more precisely the head of Freud himself. As the images of egg, lobster and sea
urchin, the image of snails are quite frequent in the paintings of Dali. Again the factor of hard
shells outside and soft interior is seen in the snails and the painter was truly fascinated by the
geometry of the curves of snail hence use this in most of his paintings.
Dali’s symbolism extends from non-living objects to the living one. Like many other
objects of daily use, drawer is present in most of his works. These drawers are attached with
the human bodies. Some of the drawers symbolize the memory as well as unconsciousness

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and referred to the idea drawer. This idea drawer is related to the legacy of the concept of
Freud’s dreams. These express the mystery of the hidden secrets. As the children try one and
every possible drawers to find out the hidden things within them, the painter has linked his
drawers to be the place where the memories are kept (Franklin 2018). On the other hand,
these drawers are not only the representative of the unconscious memory, or mystery of
human lives, but also the Freudian explanation of women sexuality. Dali has portrayed many
of his drawers slightly ajar and attached with the woman body. These either expresses the
secrecy of the women body or concealed sexuality of women (Dine 2017). However, Dali has
portrayed these drawers in such a manner that they convey that their secrecy are slightly open
hence the fear factor is not lessened gradually.
Dali’s elephant is an expression of deformed animal of wheat he wants to see that
animal in reality. His elephant is depicted with multilinked and long hence invisible legs.
These legs are the representation of their desire. These elephants are skinny and fragile.
These elephants of Dali are able to carry objects on their backs. Despite the fact that elephant
is the representative of strength in reality in many culture and literature but here Dali’s
deformed elephant is a mixture of camel and elephant which is reprinting future in most of
the cases. These elephants are seen to be carrying obelisks which is mainly representation of
the power as well as domination (Smith 2016). Through these the elephants are connected
with the power and domination and there is a phallic overtone present in them. However, the
symbol of elephant is seen to be powerful yet a beast of burden whose weight is supported by
the spindly legs showing weightlessness. This therefore represent Dali’s desire and fantasy
which he wants to see in real future. These also symbolize men shackled to the earth by
gravity but reaching for higher. Due to this reason, their legs get longer and their feet stay
connected to the ground.

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In every painters or artists at the time of Salvador Dali has used the religious or
mythological characters or incidents in their works, therefore, Dali is also not an exception.
He has picked the connotation of Venus and modified this mythical figure to represent his
dreams and desires (Wallis 2015). Venus is also a part of Dali’s representation of the human
figure. He has made several changes in the character and presented the woman beauty
through this character. She has been portrayed with drawers as the symbol of secrecy which
every women body conceals within them.
Unlike other modern artists, the presence of landscape is present in the works by
Salvador Dali. Based on the perception of the renaissance painting and perspective, Dali also
has portrayed realistic landscapes but these are full of unreal and strange objects in the
background of the realistic environment. The background as we; as how to use the landscape
is the strength of the art of Dali (Martinez-Conde et al. 2015). These help to create the
surrounding of unrealistic objects.
As mentioned before, the paintings, photography, sculpture and other forms of art
have been the representatives of the fantasy and fear of the artist among which the symbol of
silhouettes. To Dali, silhouettes are the repetition of the psychological shadows, apparitions
and spirits. It stands for good, inner dialogue, motivational power and supernatural being.
Along with these, the silhouettes are the symbols of evil, inhibitions ad inner conflicts which
contrast the positive thoughts. These intensify the contrast of light and darkness and also and
for fantasy, imagination and dreams which represents the negative shades of life.
The butterfly plays important part in the art forms of Salvador Dali. It is his favorite
symbol of Dali since the 50. It is the old Greek work psyche that means soul and butterfly.
The enormous Varity, color and lightness in butterfly that attracted the artist who associated
it with the factors of transformation. It is a symbol of illusion that can make others fly and

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gives the idea of flexibility, agility and memory. Finally the burning giraffe in his painting,
Dali has represented the idea of male cosmic monster of Apocalypse.
Therefore, it can be concluded that Salvador Dali is mainly influenced by the ideology
of Sigmund Freud. This ideology influenced him to see the world from different perception
and understanding. The surrealistic style of art that represented the dreams of the painter
mainly his fantasies and fears. Through perfect use of some very common objects he has
presented his insight and given those objects and ideas a new shape, size and color. Hence it
can be stated that Dali’s style of art is complete different from the other contemporary artists
who could not make general objects modified like Dali and given them a new identification
of symbols.

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References:
Dali, Salvador. Persistence of memory. American Library Color Slide Company, 1971.
Dine, Ticiana. "Surrealist Crucifixion by Dali." Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary
Studies 5, no. 3 S1 (2017): 94.
Franklin, Rachel. "Eroticism, narrative and cultural renewal: The writing of Salvador Dalí
1928-1945." PhD diss., Sheffield Hallam University, 2018.
Martinez-Conde, Susana, Dave Conley, Hank Hine, Joan Kropf, Peter Tush, Andrea Ayala,
and Stephen L. Macknik. "Marvels of illusion: illusion and perception in the art of Salvador
Dali." Frontiers in human neuroscience 9 (2015): 496.
Rentzou, Effie. "Surrealist Ghostliness by Katharine Conley, and: Tiny Surrealism: Salvador
Dali and the Aesthetics of the Small by Roger Rothman." SubStance 47, no. 3 (2018): 167-
175.
Rothman, Roger. "Object-Oriented Surrealism: Salvador Dalí and the Poetic Autonomy of
Things." Culture, Theory and Critique 57, no. 2 (2016): 176-196.
Smith, Alan. "'The double helix proves the existence of God': art and science in dialogue with
Salvador Dali's religious imagination." Approaching Religion 6, no. 2 (2016): 67-80.
Wallis, Jonathan. "Double Deceptions: Salvador Dalí’s Stereoscopic Paintings and the
Influence of Gerrit Dou." Papers of Surrealism 11 (2015): 1.