Describe:

1. What is the name of artist who created the artwork?

2. What kind of an artwork is it?
3. What is the name of the artwork?
4. When was the artwork was created?
5. Name some other major events in history that occurred at the same time this work was
created?

Salvador Dali was eating lunch on his workbench one hot August afternoon in 1931 when the
thought of paranoid hallucinations suddenly entered his consciousness. The summer heat had
already caused some Camembert cheese to melt when he took out his pencil and began
drawing. Dali had the notion to use melting timepieces as the focal point. The most well-known
surrealist in history, Salvador Dali, whose true name is Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali y Domenech,
depicted a dream world arranged in juxtaposed and illogical ways, deformed, or otherwise
metamorphosed. His "Persistence of Memory" is undoubtedly the most well-known painting
and one of surrealism's most evocative images. Artists at this period were examining their
subconscious and frequently portrayed their own visions. The methodology, which is informed
by the odd "paranoiac-critical method," entails inciting a paranoid frame of mind to enable a
piece of art that captures deconstructed ideas of reality.

Analyze:

1. How has the artist used the colors in the work?

2. What sort of effect do the colors have on the artwork?
3. What roles does texture play in the work?
4. How has the overall visual effect or mood of the work been achieved by the use of elements of
art and principles of design?
5. How was the artist’s design tools used to achieve a particular look or focus?

According to the work's textual description, time is the theme conveyed in the painting
"Persistence of Memory." The components of the piece aid in giving the painting a more
profound significance. This artwork uses proportion, lines, texture, unity, variety, shapes,
emphasis, repetition, texture, color, harmony, and balance among other characteristics of art.
The lines utilized cast a shadow on the shapes and surfaces, giving the artwork's smooth texture
—which the viewers experience as smoothness—a conclusive elucidation. The colors employed
provide a sense of equilibrium in this picture. The effective use of blue and yellow in this picture
helps to explain its vibrant appearance.
In addition, the contrast between the light and dark sections creates a tone intensity that
appears to describe the life of the artwork. Furthermore, the positive and negative space are
perfectly balanced. Due to the amount of empty space in the background and the combination
of colors that make it appear sandy, the surrealist icon depiction of known images appears to
create a desert landscape. A linear perspective is also depicted in this painting and a among all
the things in the artwork, the ones in front, such the tree, liquefying clocks, and table, stand out
the most. These items, however, capture the specifics of the real-world subjects.

Interpretation:

What do you think it means

How does this relate to you and your life?
What feelings do you have when looking at this artwork?
Why do you think that the artist chose to work in this manner and made these kinds of artistic
decisions?
Why did the artists create this artwork?

With the exception of this picture, Dali's always forced us to make sense of the nonsensical
objects he included in his works. Since there is no clear-cut interpretation of this artwork, artists
and critics are free to come up with their own theories. On second note, Dali once said, "The
fact that I myself, at the moment of painting, do not understand my own pictures, does not
mean that these pictures have no meaning," adding that "on the contrary, their meaning is so
profound, complex, coherent, and involuntary that it escapes the more simple analysis of logical
intuition.” The surrealist painting, in my perspective, illustrates how memories can alter through
time. However, the title itself suggests that the picture is a recollection that has long since faded
or becoming warped after a long length of time. The characteristics of this artwork leave me
feeling tranquil and in an unfathomable state of mind. I feel peaceful in the midst of turmoil, to
put it simply. Nothing in life is permanent, and everything will eventually vanish, as the proverb
says.

Memory loss can occur over time, as shown by the dead tree, melting clocks, table, and creature
that some critics think to be Dali himself. The ants in the timer stand in for deformation, while
the background of the sea and land can be connected to a sense of desolation. In other words,
time passes quickly even when people aren't aware of it, which occupies people's thoughts and
emotions and causes anxiety. The "fury of precision" is totally what makes The Persistence of
Memory so bizarre. Dali painted recognizable items in strange ways rather than creating a
fanciful universe with abrupt brushstrokes and arbitrary colors. He was able to systematize the
confusion and delusions he was having while in this semi-conscious condition and then fully
reject the world of reality in his surrealist artworks because to this "paranoiac-critical approach."
It became more and more common for people to acquire what seemed like random and
irrational knowledge in this way, and other Surrealists started to experiment with Dali's manner
of creating art.

Even science has proven that every time we think about a memory it changes itself. We could call it changing, deforming
or decaying from its original state. The ants and the melted watches, thus, indicate the deforming memory.

Judgement:
 Why do you think that this work has intrinsic value or worth? What is the value do you find in
the work?
Does the work have benefit to others? Do you find that the work communicates an idea, feeling
or principle that would have value for others?
What kind of effect do you think the work could have for others?
Does the work lack value or worth? Why do you think this is so?
Rather than seeing the work as being very effective or without total value, does the work fall
somewhere in-between? Do you think the work is just okay? What do you base this opinion on?
The use of elements of art? Lack of personal expression? The work lacks a major focus?

Despite Dali's acknowledgment that this artwork has no specific essense, the surreal impression it leaves
on viewers makes it a triumph. It makes an effort to delve deep into human psychology at one point and
analyzes the subconscious realm at another. Dali gives viewers the chance to escape reality and explore
what lies beneath the surface by altering and manipulating concrete objects. Although the imagery that
permeates the work may be enigmatic and captivating, it also has a variety of interpretations that help
to imply and depict the subconscious. On top of that, I don't believe Dali lacked aptitude in producing
this masterpiece. In addition to painting, his extensive career already allowed him to experiment with a
range of other mediums, which helped shape the kind of artworks he was creating. Proficiently, one
interpretation is obvious: the popularity of the painting ensured Dali's stardom and solidified its status
as the pinnacle of surrealism in a way that its time components did not.