Written Diagnostic piece.

This painting reminds me of a really hot day when you feel too hot to want to do anything, it reminds me of this because of the way the clocks are slumped over things as if they are being lazy, the colours of the painting also make it look quite hot. When looking at this painting and seeing all of the clocks it makes me think that Dali may have had too much time on his hands or he may have been running out of time for something. Back in the time period when this painting was made, pocket watches were actually very popular, almost every artist had one.


When looking at Andy Warhol's Marylin Monroe piece there is quite a similar look between the two paintings. They're both quite photo-realistic aside from the bright colours used on Marylin. They also both use similar colours such as the blue's, yellows and orangy/red tone. Both of their works were unique for their time too as other artworks were more dull and not as exciting to look at, Dali's painting was painted from his mind which was unusual because most artists painted landscapes or portraits which is what made this piece so popular. These paintings are also very different from each other as one is a print of a real person, a well known figure, where as Dali's painting is from his mind. Both artists did not follow the traditional ways of art and painted what they wanted rather than doing what everyone else did which got them a lot of attention.

Analysis.

Salvador Dali - The persistence of memory.

This painting has always interested me ever since I first saw it in Primary School. I love the use of colour and the weirdness of the painting. It looks melted, unlike anything i've ever seen, like when you leave chocolate coins in a heated area for too long. This painting is relevant to me because it looks how I feel a lot of the time. I feel lonely and sad, like no one could ever cheer me up no matter how much they tried, like i'm slowly melting like this painting, it gives off the emotions of sadness and despair for me, as if time is 'slipping away'.

When Dali painted this painting he was showing that we have no sense of time when we are dreaming, therefore the clocks in the painting are melting and everything else looks quite normal. Pocket watches were very popular in the 1920's-30's when the Surrealists worked, and it has been questioned if these are infact pocket watches in the painting, The Surrealists laughed at most things middle class society takes seriously and that includes the importance we place on things like pocket watches that mark passage of time.

This painting had been reproduced many times, it is seen everywhere, on postcards, posters and it was even in a Looney Tunes film where Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny enter the painting and start melting themselves. 

In 1936 the Museum of Modern art in New York city held its first Surrealist exhibition, which Dali's 'Persistence of memory' was the star of the show. This led to him being on the front cover of Time magazine, which made him very popular.