Welcome to the Funhouse with Salvador Dali

Welcome to the Funhouse with Salvador Dali

Of course there is a crab on his lap

I was rewarded for waking up early by having enough time to travel to Dali’s hometown, Figueras, Spain.  The Google lady (bless her haart) kept directing us up and down small streets.  Initially she directed us the Dali Theater. While attempting to find parking, we came across a large building covered in bread and statues wearing baguettes on their heads. Oh, and giant eggs on the roof.  I guess we found it!

She is so wholesome

We had been to the Dali museum in Florida assembled from a Cleveland couple’s private collection. (What Cleveland wasn’t good enough?)  We were told the St. Pete collection was second only to the collection in Spain.  It is hard not to compare and contrast the two museums.  The museum in Florida explores the evolution of the artist.  Most people do not realize that Dali went through a deeply religious period.  The museum contains a few major religious monuments as well as some other strong pieces.

I know.  Those legs look good but no meat.

The museum in Spain is based on Pee Wee’s Playhouse or probably vice versa since Dali died before the show appeared on Saturday mornings.   The museum is billed as the largest Surrealist exhibit in the world.  Yup, no complaints here.  I can’t imagine anything comes close in scale or downright bizarreness. Is that a word, bizarreness?  It is now.  If you were to compare the museums piece by piece, I would say the Florida collection is actually stronger.  As an experience, the Catalunyan experience is quite the experience.  In the center of the building in a garden containing several structures that look like academy award statues surrounding a Caddy sitting above Dali’s final resting place.  If you put a coin in the slot next to the car, it starts to rain inside in the car like a wishing well with mannequins.  Yes, it’s that kind of place.  Freak.

There were other coin operated motifs as well.  One ball of fabric slowly opened up as Christ on cross.  Another was a dancing mylar crucifix with carnival music.  Each room was an opportunity to be amused.  The Mae West room was a masterpiece? I think, kinda sort of, defininely.  You walked into the room to see giant lips and other parts of a face.  When you climbed some stairs you noticed you were standing below her hairdoo.  In the middle of the platform was a lens.  The entire room came together as her face.  Freaky.  Inside here “head” was another display.

The artist was also probably a genius to in the true sense of the word.  There are some pictures that when folded create different images and when folded again create something else.  How do you plan something like that?  He was also an accomplished fine artist.  The man could paint.  In one room he played with styles that epitomize other artists in great detail like Matisse.

Overall, it was a surreal experience.  Exactly what he wanted.

It's like a tombstone, but you can drive it.

Big mouth!