Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Salvador Dali: Over-the-Top? Out of His Mind? Or Something Else?

Earlier this summer I was reading a book of George Orwell essays titled Dickens, Dali and Others. Most American readers know Orwell for his last two books, Animal Farm and 1984, but he was also a prolific essayist. This particular volume is a collection of essays on people such as Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling H.G. Wells, Arthur Koestler and others. 

Dali mural in Miami.
Photo credit: Gary Firstenberg
I was especially interested in his views on Salvador Dali, not only because of my own fascination with his paintings but also because I was certain that as a contemporary, Orwell might offer a fresh perspective. In this, I was not disappointed. 

The essay on Dali was written in response to Dali's autobiography, titled Life. Orwell begins by sharing that the episodes Dali shares are a cross between implausible, outlandish and romanticized or perverse. Orwell then cites passages to illustrate what he means. "Dead faces, skulls, corpses of animals, occur fairly frequently in his pictures, and the ants which devoured the dying bat make countless reappearances."

This last reference is to an incident in which he found a dead bat covered with ants which he purportedly stuck in his mouth and chewed. "What Dali has done and what he has imagined is debatable, but in is his outlook, his character, the bedrock decency of a human being does not exist... Clearly such people are undesirable, and a society in which they can flourish has something wrong with it."

A little further, Orwell goes on to address an issue which I've obliquely made reference to in the past. "The defenders of Dali are claiming... [that] the artist is to be exempt from the moral laws that are binding on ordinary people. Just pronounce the word "Art," and everything is O.K. Rotting corpses with snails crawling over them are O.K.; kicking little girls in the head is O.K." This latter reference is to a story in which Dali gleefully kicked his little sister in the head when he was a boy.

Orwell does not deny that Dali is an exceptional talent as a draughtsman, but it has to be simultaneously acknowledged that "he is a disgusting human being."

A little further Orwell continues to expound on this theme. "He is a symptom of the world's illness. The important thing is not to denounce him as a cad who ought to be horsewhipped, or defend him as a genius who ought to be questioned, but to find out why he exhibits this particular set of aberrations."

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The above essay came to mind during a recent conversation with Tony Belmont, president/founder of the National Comedy Hall of Fame. For a decade Belmont managed the great entertainer/ventriloquist Señor Wences. As it turns out, Wences grew up in Spain and the two, he and Dali, went to art school together. The two became best friends.

I asked Mr. Belmont if he'd met Dali at that time and he made this comment initially. "I went on a seven-day cruise off of Spain with the two of them. Dali was like an explosion in a gumball factory. He gave me an etching as a gift after the cruise. Actually, I would have been happy with aspirin after a week with Dali!"

When I asked if he could elaborate, he shared the following story.

I met Dali in the spring of 1976. His best friend was Señor Wences the great ventriloquist. I was the manager for Señor Wences and his primary booking agent for over 10 years. So in the spring of 1976 Señor Wences asked me to go on a 10-day cruise with him through the Mediterranean. We would leave Barcelona, Spain, and travel around Malta and other wonderful islands in the Mediterranean. He told me we would be traveling with his close friend Salvatore Dali and he wanted me to meet Dali. 

"I thought as a promoter this may work out well, as I could possibly promote Dali at special events. I had no idea what Dali was like other than a few articles and his paintings. As a world-renowned artist I  expected a very dignified and well-mannered Spanish gentleman. Boy! Was I surprised!

The first night on the cruise was Captain's night. Like most people that have taken a cruise know, it's a special night to get dressed up. Being that I was traveling with The guest of honor (Dali) I was sitting at the Captain's Table and opposite the Captain, which is reserved for VIPs and the guest of honor. The Captain was a German who had been in the German Navy during the war and wanted everything to be precise and on the minute. At 6:55 P.M the Captain leaned forward and asked me in a low voice where was Dali? He was concerned as he needed to make the opening toast and that would be at exactly 7:00 P.M.

I replied that I didn't know because at the time I had not met Dali myself. I could tell the Captain was not pleased with this situation. But just as the Captain was about to start the toast at 7:00 P.M. the two large french doors that open into the banquet room that everyone could see suddenly flew open. The Captain sat back down and everyone in the room was silent, and maybe even in shock. Standing at the top of the short staircase was Dali surrounded by two young men. They were all dressed in tuxedoes, although Dali was wearing a top hat and his tux had tails. He had a bright red ascot ruffled white shirt, held a silver walking stick and ~~~~~ no pants! Instead, he had pretty red silk boxer shorts with the word Dali on them. 

The Captain gasped, turned to me and said, "He has no pants!" 

Dali calmly walked to the table and said, "Let's eat!" 

From that point on it was all downhill~~~!

The evening got crazier after he sat down but I ran out of time. I liked him but thought he wasn't carrying all his groceries in one bag. I believe after being with him closely for over a week that it was 50% acting for attention, to promote his image, and the other 50% really him!

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