Surrealism Study 2 - Salvador
Dali
Salvador Dali is one of the most famous
artist to emerge from the Dada and surrealist art movements although he often
opposed the values and morals of the movement itself, his work reflected the
themes and techniques commonly associated with the style. He was born in 1904
and was a skilled draftsman but was best known and famous for his bold and
visually striking surreal images which were bizarre and odd.
How Does This Relate
To My Work?
His style doesn’t particularly
communicate strong horror, at least not in the psychological sense that I have
been referencing. It does however, influence me with regards to the ways in
which I will model the assets in my psychological horror environment. Dali was
a strong believer in Freudian theories and this is clear in his images, he
clearly communicates psychological theories and themes which is similar to
psychological horror game, however, some
of his images are bright, vibrant and colourful which is not how I want my
environment to be aesthetically.
I have stated I want to use surrealism as a
means to uniquely inject and communicate horror within my scene. While some of
Dali’s work doesn’t promote commonly associated visuals seen in psychological
horror games, they do illustrate confusion, distortion, obscurity and other
complex themes not dissimilar to those I want to convey in my work. Therefore I
have chosen his work to be my second surrealism study to benefit my studio
project.
Image #1 "Javanese Mannequin"
“Javanese Mannequin” - Salvador
Dali
This is “Javanese Mannequin” by Salvador Dali painted in 1934. The
image is truly abstract and bizarre upon first glance and forces the viewer to
try and determine a form or name for the surreal image. The distorted human
figured paired with the skeletal frame which lies atop is a juxtaposition which
communicates themes of life and death.
Unlike other paintings by Dali, this
image is reminiscent of Bacons work whereby
the object of focus is seemingly “lost” in an undefined space of colour. Dali
uses strong shadow and an intense fill light from the right hand side to create
sharp shadows on the floor. This seems to be the only light source in the image
which reflects how horror fiction such as games and films commonly use limited
light sourced to highlight key areas of focus to increase the shock factor.
What I also really like, and find
inspiring for my project, is Dali’s “mish-mash” of geometry, shapes, figures,
distortion of form and lack of clarification upon space and light. I want to
try and build a surrealist model that will communicate and inject horror into
my scene and I feel this is a fantastic inspiration and influence to help me
achieve that.
How this Influences
my Environment
How will this painting be a visual
inspiration and influence for my project?
- The lack of clarified space and surroundings intensified by scratches of colour and eerie colour spectrum helps communicate uneasy emotions of haunting horror.
- Juxtaposition of “random” objects will help to distinguish and inform my assets when I attempt to build something hauntingly surreal.
- Distortion of form to create confusion.
- Obscuring natural human figures.
- Strong directional light only to highlight point of interest.
- Uncomfortable positioning of model and form.
Image #2 "Modern Rhapsody - The Seven Arts (1957)
“Modern Rhapsody - The Seven Arts
(1957)” - Salvador Dali
This is “Modern Rhapsody - The Seven Arts” painted
by Dali in 1957. I have chosen this piece is because of the contents. I really
like how the objects are completely disjointed in their nature but they connect
in order to create obscure and distorted forms. This one is only a short study,
I wanted to clarify how I plan to experiment by building assets in a similar
style for my horror environment. Whilst the overall tone of this image doesn’t
communicate horror, it does promote confusion, distortion, obscurity and an un
nerving sense of discomfort; all elements I want to portray in my scene.
How this Influences
my Environment
How will this painting be a visual
inspiration and influence for my project?
- Confusing alignment of models that are not commonly associated together to emphasise confusion and distortion which are two key themes for my environment.
- Seemingly “random” assets used to communicate obscurity (im sure the objects have symbolism and metaphorical meaning but Im not sure what the painting as a whole means, im taking it at face value!).
Image #3 "The Path of Enigmas"
“The Path of Enigmas (first version) -
Salvador
Dali (1981)
This is “The Path of Enigmas (first version)” painted
by Dali in 1981. I have chosen it because the use of repetition is bold and
striking. The composition is also obscure and very surreal. I also feel
influenced to create some form of “sack” similar to that which appears in this
painting. The sacks differentiate as they go down the line but they also
maintain metaphorical meaning a symbolism. I want to attach alternative
meanings that manifest themselves visually within my environment too so this is
a great inspiration.
How this Influences
my Environment
How will this painting be a visual
inspiration and influence for my project?
- Intimidating perspective and composition.
- Influential asset idea.
- Visual manifestation of symbolism and metaphorical alternative meanings.
Salvador Dali Study Summary
Okay, so I have established that
although Dali’s work communicated and illustrates themes, ideas, symbols and
other functions closely associated with psychological horror, it doesn’t really
have the overall aesthetics of a psychological horror piece like, say, Francis Bacons work which is
disturbing. Dali’s work is confusing and could be considered disturbing when
given the true meaning of the images, however at
first glance his work isn't representative of the overall aesthetic I want to
achieve in my environment.
I do, however, feel inspired by his
composition and subject matter. His nature to obscure and distort to
communicate is exactly the essence of surrealism I want to portray within my
psychological horror environment. I want to take this flare of surreal Dali and
incorporate it into my asset design and attempt to inject themes of horror aligned with surrealism to achieve the
visual and theoretical aesthetics I desire.
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