Dalí Berlin

Today I postponed heading out for the day until after lunch. M wanted to make some homemade schnitzel, and I was only to happy to help him eat it. He definitely passes muster as a cook. It was delicious.

My major objective of the afternoon was Berlin's permanent Salvador Dali exhibit. The actual address is Leipziger Platz, but the U-Bahn stop is Potsdamer Platz. When I came up the elevator from the subway, I was right next door.

I've always been fascinated by what I'm guessing are his later works, probably in oils... the melting clocks, etc. Not one was included in this collection. In fact, the pictures featured in the front windows were not included n the display, although there were a couple that were probably from the same series.

As such, I feel this exhibit is oversold. It would be interesting for an art history major or any serious student of art. But for me -- I like what I like -- I would rate it a resounding "Meh".

Sadly, the lobby was more interesting than most of the pictures.

Since no photography was allowed inside, this will be a word-heavy post. I was going to include links to examples below, but that proved to be difficult, since most of the images are for sale in some gallery or another.

Most of the works on display were drawings with watercolors or other coloration. A lot of it was dark and ugly. Some was more primitive than surreal.

That's not to say it was a total waste of time/money. I did bring away some positive observations.

I was surprised at how much of his work was illustration: Don Quixote, Tristan and Isolde, Dante's Inferno, and perhaps more that I've forgotten. Especially with Tristan and Isolde, I was impressed by how few lines Dali needed to create an expressive representation of a human figure.

I noticed a tendency to experiment with materials. One series included a material similar to gold glitterglue. In another series he experimented with photographic montage. He also ventured into film with some bizarre results. Two short films are included in the display, including one he made with Disney.

Of the works they had one display, my favorites were the sculptures and bas-relief coins, such as the 1984 Olympic medals. The seemed more focused with less "messiness".

For someone with an interest in art history, the arrangement of similar works together makes the exhibit coherent. The small guidebook adds background information, but doesn't make it much easier to follow the exhibit. I had to do some searching to find the descriptive information for what I was looking at. If anyone would like my copy of the guidebook, let me know.

From Potsdamer Platz, I walked to Unter den Linden to pick up some pastries at the cafe by the Brandenburg Gate that I'd visited early in my trip. That walk felt a lot like "Goodbye Berlin", as I passed the Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Tor, and the other sights that have become familiar. From there, I went home to share Kaffeetrinken with M and wait for P to come home from work for my last weekend in Germany.