Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka

(2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/

Comparative Study
Salvadore Dali & Jacek Yerka
Henry Bub

This Comparative Study centralizes and

focuses on the deeper societal meaning of
the awe inspiring and head spinning work of
The Persistence of Memory- Salvador
Salvadore Dali, and the more contemporary Dali
work of a modern surrealist Jacek Yerka. In (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection
/works/79018
this examination of their work, I will be
focusing on how these two brilliant artists
used formal qualities of art, but at the same
time, incorporating social and cultural
context in their pieces, to convey effectively,
a hidden and skewed societal message on
the human condition as a whole to find
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali
deeper meaning. (1937)https://www.dalipaintings.
com/sleep.jsp
Analysis of
Cultural Context
and Purpose
In the time that Salvador Dali made The
Persistence of Memory, a new way to
go about creating surrealist art started
to surface in the surrealism community
which Salvador was the Heart of. This
new form of art creation was
Automatism, where one loses
themselves to the art they were
creating, letting their own subconscious
create the art while they were just a
vessel of ideas. This usage of the
experimentation lead Salvador to
create some extraordinary pieces. With
the most obvious and far reaching part
of the painting being the melting and
distorted imagery of the clocks, the
overall idea that is trying to be
conveyed through this message is that,
within the world of one's mind, the
dream scape, the areas that aren't
attached to societal advancement,
came to be a significant message of
how time as a construct could be bent,
and manipulated within one's mind,
challenging what has been told to us all
of our lives.
The Persistence of Memory- Salvador Dali (1933)
Salvador Dali Used aspects of his cultural heritage and of his homeland along with
inspiration from his peers to emphasize parts of his work and the War taking place during Salvador used a specific method to work
production.The reason this was created was to challenge the idea of time and dreams, to while trying to create surrealist works,
distort reality and to paint exclusively from the abstract mind. including The Persistence of Memory
where he would enter a drug like trance,
and subconsciously create art that is deep
within his mind. He was thought this tactic
by one of his fellow surrealist artists from
France, as he was inspired by them, but
now dominated them in the Surrealist
market, taking inspiration from them.The
realistic background, shown in the far
distance, is a subtle nod to the history and
home of Salvador, being a horizon that he
was familiar to as a child. This is also a
hidden message, describing how real world
objects, and perception are found within
our dreams, contorting and distorting within
the dreamscapes.
Many speculate based on the cultural
context of this piece being during the time
of WWII and having some connections,
one of those being of Einstein theory of
relativity, and Salvador responding with
"I'd like to think of it more as cheese
melting in the hot sun" when asked if the
work was tied to the theory. The use of the
desert landscape within this work, has
much deeper meaning than to just fill
space. A desert is dry, almost wasteland
like, it's almost as if the passage of time
doesn’t matter within this open and dry
place, all that matters is the sand blowing
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
in the wind, which is a representation of
sporadic time intervals (dreamscape)
 Analysis of
The contrast of colors, that Formal Qualities
being warm and cool, with the
middle being negative. The of Salvador Dali
corners are constructed on
warm colors, to give a vast
contrast to the center being a The Balance in this piece is done
bright white cloth, and a pitch like no other, as just at a first glance
black void covering the bottom there really is no balance, just a lot
right corner. With a bright cool of weight within the left corner,
color filled horizon line, which which is made up of the melted
is a huge contrast from the rest clocks. But after further analysis,
of the piece, really centralizing the simple, and realistic background
the focus on the clocks. gives excellent balance with the
complex and distorted imagery of
the melting clocks within the
foreground.

Despite there being no While there is a fair amount of

central image, there is a negative space within Salvador's
surprising amount Piece, the work doesn't seem
of movement through the use empty, or unfinished. Infact
of color, and distance within because of this negative space,
the foreground and backgrou it gives it more of a societal
nd, which in turn is creating a meaning and context, showing
curved line of movement for that time is such a big concept
The Persistence of Memory- Salvador Dali (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018 and something we rely on, when
the viewer's eyes.
it honestly shouldn’t be.

Analysis of
Cultural
Significance
A common theme and asset
used within the work of
Salvador Dali, was crutches,
the use of these crutches
varies throughout all the works
he has used them in, but many
suspect that the meaning for
them in this art piece was to
mention the current unknown
and fragile state that his home
of Spain was at the time of
painting. Using them as a
crutch to show that this head,
while filled with knowledge
may fall and collapse under
itself, just like his home.
Feeling this fear and dread for
his homeland, it inspired him
to put them under a head that
is said to be a self-portrait, to
convey that he needed
crutches to support the
emotional and mental weight
that had been put onto him.
Salvador Dali Being a very
Salvador Dali Created "Sleep" by taking different aspects of things going on educated man, and always
in his head at the time of creation, such as the spanish civil war, and the state studying psychology, and using
of his home. those same studies in his art,
trying to understand and explain
the human minds anticipation and
fear of death. Using studies and
information from "Beyond the
Pleasure Principle" by Sigmund
Freud, he studied the way that
animals and humans react to
things that impose or threaten
with death, by thinking of them as
external, when Dali understood
that the ways that death can
approach are subconscious,
which is represented in "Sleep"
as it has its eyes closed to block
out the external forces.
Salvador Dali used the giant
propped up head within this
work once before within the
piece "the great masturbator"
referencing his own surrealist
pieces while also distorting
them and changing them, to
convey a different meaning.
Trying to show a context
around the work, by having
the world around him be
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali (1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp different with the Spanish
civil war going on at the time
of creation.
Analysis of
practiced painting surrealist art since he was a child. He always adored the 1950's art
and saw it as the golden age, influencing his work.
Cultural
Significance  stories about Jacek Yerka's art,
Jacek Yerka Creates
landscapes within his mind,
Wanting to emphasize
landscapes that he is familiar
to, but creating them in a sort
of dream like context, He puts
creatures he designs into said
landscapes to represent
something going on within the
society he lives in, the
modern age, creating a
commentary on time. Being a
man who enjoys the simpler
things, he was very hard
stuck in not enjoying the
future, always considering the
past to be a better place,
He's very fond of the 1950's,
As his form of work was
represented mostly during
that period, wishing he could
go back to his perceived
"Golden Age" despite never
really experiencing the 50's
as he was born in 1952.
Jacek Yerka as a child was heavily enveloped in the 1950's French surrealism, and
Jacek Yerka while creating this
art, was heavily inspired and
pushed by the writings of a
creative story writer named
Harlan Ellison, who wrote
or commissioned Jacek Yerka to
create art for the stories that he
wrote. These two artists would
share their ideas and would put
them together into a book
named "Mind Fields". Which
adds to the idea that Jacek
Yerka is placing emphasis in his
artwork about the human mind
and how it works and functions.
Jacek Yerka grew up in Poland,
with large farmland and
meadows where he grew up,
instead of being outside playing
in them with the other boys, he
would instead be drawing the
landscape and inserting the
creatures he made into them, to
create his own image, what he
saw out there. Much like what he
has done here with his
Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/ hometown referencing what he
came from, and what conditioned
him to be who he is today.
Analysis of Formal
Qualities
The usage of blending
tones and color palette
within the floating/propped
up head, is really
extraordinary and
contrasts realism with
surrealism having the
background being a dream
like landscape with a
gradient of blue white and
reddish brown following
the piece downwards. I find
the centralized shading to
be quite amazing as it really
vocalizes the center of the
piece being the head. While
also giving a crisp outline to
the whole piece with the
sides being a darker hue
than the rest of the head in
question. The usage of the
crutches to support the
figure makes the image like
a beacon in the middle of
the painting creating
movement in the piece
This pieces movement, contrast and depth of figures is really
extraordinary, and really pleases the eyes even with its more disturbing
The background being a light blue
and white brings an amazing
contrast with the figure in the
surrealist imagery
middle and the objects within the
background, as well as adding
movement to the piece in the
form of a gradient with the floor
being a very dark umber, almost
mahogany. With the use of the
distant castle figure it adds a
sense of depth to the piece that
really makes the viewer move
throughout the piece trying to sift
through the surrealist imagery
and details that would otherwise
be hidden in a more
contemporary and realistic piece.
The desert background of this
piece has shown up within other
pieces of Salvador Dali's which is
used to represent the dream like
landscape of dreams he's had in
the past which actually influence
the work, these surrealist images
coming from the dream scapes
being the vastness of them,
complimented with the desolate
colors and lack of objects within
them, creating tons of negative
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali (1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp
space and leaving the rest to the
imagination of the viewer.
Analysis of
and monster like figures, that were all a part of a shared world, called "YerkaLand"
purpose, function,
and significance
Jacek Yerka worked with
a man named Harlan
Ellison as stated earlier in
the Cultural Analysis, but
this mention is important
here as it pertains to the
function of this work,
being made to tell a
story to people, and to
tell a written story to
others, The book was
called "Mind Fields"
which emphasizes the
fact that this art was to
take a look into the
human brain, the human
condition with time and
space, showing the field
as the expanse into the
unknown, that the
creature is learning to
walk through.
This piece was a part of a collection called "YerkaLand" in which he created landscapes
this piece is to be seen as
depicting time, slowly creeping,
learning to walk, wanting to leap
forward, but never having the
chance as it doesn’t know how
to walk just yet. Jacek as a child
was impatient with his life,
wanting to keep moving forward
with new works, not hinging on
the future or past, he stuck with
surrealism and was bored with
other forms this symbolizing the
passage of time thus the
passage of time.
Jacek Yerka grew up in Poland,
with large farmland and
meadows where he grew up,
instead of being outside playing
in them with the other boys, he
would instead be drawing the
landscape and inserting the
creatures he made into them, to
create his own image, what he
saw out there. Much like what he
has done here with his
Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/ hometown referencing what he
came from, and what conditioned
him to be who he is today.
Analysis of
show how the mind wanders, endlessly, like a desert, being propped up by
purpose, function,
and significance
The Function of this piece
was to conceptualize how
humans think, and how
humans dream, specifically
himself, this is shown within
the closed eyes that are
being held up by crutches,
showing a sort of
amplification for the human
perception, he wanted to
convey a sort of extreme
feeling, with the empty
dream like background.
This background style is
found in every one of his
pieces, showing a sort of
emptiness to the dreams
that he had while trying to
create, as to have the
inspirations he had for
these dreams he used the
aforementioned “Paranoiac-
Critical Method.”
The Purpose of this piece is to give a glimpse into the idea of dreaming and
Salvador Dali relied heavily on
concepts that had to do with the
reality.
human mind, as he was a
surrealist, being inspired by the
French surrealists of his time, his
theme was the abstraction and
abstract thoughts and dreams of
the human mind, focusing on
concepts about dream worlds and
lands. This is shown in how the
backgrounds of his works seem
familiar yet barren and desert like.
Almost like how the human brain
when dreaming is empty, yet
fillable with throughs and dreams.
Salvador Dali used emphasis
onto the demented thoughts
of the human mind, the
human condition and how the
mind can wander if left
uncontrolled, which is how he
made these amazing pieces,
by using a technique
explained earlier as the
"Paranoiac-Critical Method.”
which helped him explore his
own mind while creating a
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali (1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp piece of art work, letting him
flesh out the deep dreams that
he had without actually
sleeping.
Analysis of
extraordinary, as it really adds a very different kind of depth to the piece that really
interests the viewer.
Formal Qualities
The use of a creature to
represent so many concepts
within surrealism is genius, as
it humanizes the concepts
that are being hinted and
commented upon on, this one
being on time and society, so
by creating a realistic and
very finely detailed creature
amongst lesser detailed
clocks grass and trees really
adds movement to the piece
and creates a contrast in the
piece starting in the center of
the work. The use of color
making the color palette of
the creature a washed out
brown and almost wood like
texture on the clock part,
creates a disconnect from the
piece making the viewer stare
and focus on the creature in
the middle, despite having the
rest of the piece have a
similar color palette.
The usage of texture and contrast within Jacek Yerka's "Learning Walk" was
The vastness of the background
really adds to the movement of
the artwork giving an empty
dream like space similar to the
work of Salvador Dali. I find the
background being an empty
field gives the piece a lot of
contrast and movement, as the
viewers eyes are immediately
taken to the foreground with the
creature, but as it the viewer
wanders it sees the background,
and is taken in by the vastness
of the meadow that this takes
place in,
With the usage of gradients on
the clouds it adds a very simple
yet complex stormy like
appearance to the background
drawing attention to it, adding
movement to the piece. I enjoy
how it is structured and having
the green trees contrast with its
white and gray color scheme,
really adds that contrast I like to
see in pieces. Again with texture,
it is phenomenal on making the
creature that while having a
Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/ clock face, it makes it feel more
lively giving it skin, fur, wrinkles,
and muscle definition.
Comparison of Dali and
Yerka's Works
Function and Purpose
Both being surrealist artists lead them to creating art
works with challenging motifs and hard to describe
purposes when it came to an analysis of the works.
The purpose of the two works being to challenge
aspects of society that are so rooted into the fabric of
it, that they feel the need to challenge these ideas
and these norms set by ourselves, such as time,
which both of these pieces are critiquing and
representing in their own ways.
Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/
Summary of Findings
Both Artists used their home and their surroundings
within their work, along with Both works taking inspiration
from the French Surrealist periods, and try to emulate the
work created in that era. Along with this they take
inspiration from their homes and their
environments, along with history and interests, such as
WWI and WWII. Both artists used contrast, texture, and
light to emphasize the focal points of their art, and also to
create movement across the pieces as well, making the
viewer trail the positive and negative spaces.
Cultural Context Comparison
Both of the content within the pieces has to do with, and
is based on the homes of the two artists, trying to tie The Persistence of Memory- Salvador
Dali (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
back memories and concepts from their childhoods.
Within the piece "The Persistence of Memory" the
background is actually a hint to and a reference to Formal Qualities
Salvador Dali's childhood home of Madrid, this canyon The use of washed out colors specifically that being
brown, black, and a mahogany, and a little bit of a
side was a cliff that his home was located near, that he
florescent blue is used within both pieces to create a way
would explore as a child, influencing his work within this of Warm color to give a very washed look to the pieces. It
piece, On top of this relation, the reason for it being there also gives a realistic yet familiar vibe, despite being
is actually the same as Jaceks reasoning to put dream like in nature. The biggest part that comes to mind
his homeland within the background of his work. This when commenting on the use of color within both pieces,
was to show the reality and the fake aspects of dreams, is what is trying to be seen the most given the colors
how they take inspiration from the world around you, used within the piece. Such as the creature in the middle
showing places you may be familiar with despite not having dark black lines on its back and a curled blue tail
this color gives a sort of movement up the back of
actually being there at the given moment. Jacek Yerka
the creature making the viewer focus into it more than the
lived in a more rural neighborhood with a large meadow rest of the piece. This is also seen within the work of
backyard and a forest nearby, which is represented in his Salvadore Dali as the bright contrasting whites and blues
work just like Salvador Dali's. within the clocks makes it the vocal point of the piece as
the background being a deep black and
brown emphasizes them.
Comparison of Dali and
Yerka's Works
Function and Purpose
Jacek Yerkas work specifically this piece was made to
emphasize work that was created in writing for a book
that he co-created with Harlan Ellison, this book was
called "Mind Fields", the perpose of this piece was to
compliment and kind of carry the writing that Harlan
created, Similarly The Persistence of Memory by
Salvador Dali was created to tell the story of how he
personally felt about his country after the Spanish Civial
War, basing it off of conveying a message.
Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/
Summary of Cultural Context and Purpose
The Cultural Contexts of these two pieces while being in
completely different periods of time, are actually quite
similar as they both rely on constructs of the mind, and
dreams within our society Both pieces seem to tell a story
about the artists current status and mental state at the
time, along with feelings and projects they had going on
at the time. These being about the state of themselves
and their country, and about projects they were making.
Cultural Context
While these pieces were made almost 100 years apart
within different locations and cultural backgrounds, they
do actually have a good amount of similarities within the
cultural aspect of the two, Dali being influenced by
French Surrealism and trying to expose the ideas of the
Surrealist along with Yerka having the same ideas and
interests being the french surrealist period in the 1930's
and 50's. The other aspect being that they both took
ideas from their homes, as Dali had worries and thoughts
about his homeland being in danger and "on crutches"
like seen before. While in Jacek Yerkas work the
background the forest like area on the left of the painting,
is remeniscent of his home, which is described as
sprawling yet open, like a dream within Jacek Yerka's
Yerka Land portfolio. Both Jacek Yerka and Dali are
surrealist, despite living in a period where a different style
was appreciated more, both experiencing neglect at first
when creating their art.
"Sleep"-Salvador
Dali (1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp
Formal Qualities
The use of Color and contrast within Salvador Dalis
Sleep is extremely well used to show movement within
the piece. Keeping that same Orange brown color to the
usual surrealist pieces he makes similarly to The
Persistence of Memory. Using a contrasting blue, white,
and red scale, gives the piece a nice gradient that makes
the viewer focus in on the center of the piece being the
face. This is similar to Jacek Yerkas usage of the brown
and darkened hues to centralize the focus on the beast
in the center of his piece. Both Artists used texture to
their advantage within the pieces shown, having great
detail within the beast in jaceks piece to bring an
animal like human aspect to it, making it seem
really alive. The texture also makes it eye catching
and brings movement into the piece, much like Dali's
piece, the texture on the face within the center of the
image is cloth like, yet it still seems human and the
movement gives it this illusion, making it seem like a
cloth in the wind.
 Comparison of Dali's works
Function and Purpose
Dali as a surrealist wanted to challenge the norms and the
staples of society with his work, as many people thought
that surrealism was disturbing, he wanted to show things in
hidden and secret meanings while tying in his own concepts
and commentary to his work, this is seen in the dream like
landscapes of both works. Tackling human constructs
representing the human heads in both pieces, and the
clocks being almost hallucinatory. The function of the two
pieces were to reconstruct reality within the eye of
the beholder, it was to basically challenge everything we as
a society think about modern time, social constructs, and
dreams. While they tackle different concepts they do both
tackle concepts within the world and the integrated
societies within the world. These being human thoughts in
Sleep and Time and Space within Persistence of Memory.
The Persistence of Memory-
Salvador Dali (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
Summary of Cultural Context and Purpose
Both of the works shown were created just years apart,
giving them a very similar cultural context, this being the
usage of emotion and stress about his life and his home
being used in his work. The two works of Dali really show
the similarities that they have by using similar contrast
techniques and utilizing texture to produce movement
within the works, and convey imagery that previously
wouldn’t have been there without it.
Cultural Context
The two pieces were made only 4 years apart, which
doesn’t give it much of a difference within the time frame,
so it's fairly easy to make comparisons about the two's
cultural context. These both being made during a very
experimental time in Dali's life, this being the time where
he was discovering a new form of surrealist methodology
called Automotism which basically let the artist work
completely subconsiously and barely know what they
were putting on the paper or canvas. This was used and
was also mastered by Salvador Dali, and became his go
to and most used form of creating surrealist paintings
and works, all of the works shown were made using this
technique and are so dreamy and dream like because of
this, he was day dreaming while creating it.
"Sleep"-Salvador
Dali (1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp
Formal Qualities
Both works use color, specifically red, Mahogany brown,
Cerulean blue and Titanium white, he used these colors to
emphasize the more dark and realistic features of the
pieces, to kind of ground the parts of the pieces in
reality, while leaving the rest of the piece shrouded
in mystery. This is seen in Sleep with the main focus being
a brown and white colored figure, while the rest of the
background is dream like in its expansiveness. Both of the
works shown by Dali use texture as a way to show
movement and hidden meaning within the piece, while the
hidden meaning in persistence of memory is more subtle, it
is definitely there, as the white cloth seen in the middle,
uses texture to represent a face, that actually resembles
the giant face in Sleep, This use of texture brings attention
to the face like structure created by the folds of what looks
like fabric, thus giving the piece movement and a way to
track everything in the piece and is easy to look at for the
viewer.
Contrast Analysis of Dali
and Yerka's Works
Function and Purpose
The Function of The Persistence of Memory was to
paint dreams, he wanted to directly show what
dreams and surrealism was all about. It was a
demonstration of his work and his mind, as a quote
from him is "I do not do drugs, I am drugs" showing
how surrealist he was at the time. This is in contrast
to Yerka as he was creating art with small amounts of
function and meaning behind them, as the topics for
discussion had already been covered by artists
before him.
Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/
Summary of Findings in Both Cultural and
Purpose
Seeing as both artists used many different methods
to create their art, and that they were born in two
completely separate generations. The cultural
backgrounds of both are extremely different, with
one pulling from their life, and the other pulling from
the past (Dali, then Yerka)
Cultural Context Contrast
The cultural context of Learning walk is different in
contrast to The persistence of memory, as they were
made in completely different time periods, with different The Persistence of Memory- Salvador
Dali (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
ideas and concepts within the world at this time. Jacek
Yerka also lived within Poland, having a much different
Formal Qualities
social space and ideals at the time, having different
The Formal qualities within the persistence of memory
experiences with War as this piece was inspired by the has much darker tones to them, and contains much
automatons in WWII This is in contrast with Salvador more contrast than Yerkas Learning Walk. Showing
being in France and WWII haven't being started. colors like burgundy, mahogany and gold, while yerkas
Salvador Dali used inspiration from his collogues who mostly uses arm oranges, yellows and greens. The
had also worked on surrealist pieces, and had used a balance is focused within the animal in learning walk,
technique named The Paranoiac Critical, in which he while the balance is everywhere and more spread out
used hallucinogens such as mushrooms, weed, LSD, within the persistence, showing objects strewn about the
piece, bringing eyes towards different objects. The
and Molly, while painting, sometimes even falling asleep
movement across the piece is reliant on the balance of
and having an alarm wake him up to paint what he had the piece in the persistence of memory, having a
dreamt. This is in contrast with Yerka as he had never gradual path across the piece, starting from the table
used this method to paint, including this piece. like structure on the bottom left, then moving to the
cloth. While the creature in Learning Walk, has the
viewer following the spine of the creature to the head
(clock)
Contrast Analysis of Dali and
Yerka's Works
Function and Purpose
The Function of the piece learning walk in contrast to Sleep
was to be made for a book, to represent ideas and writing
within a visual format. Based off of the writing of Harlan
Ellison, he produced the writing while Jacek created the art to
follow with the intentions and interpretations of Harlan, while
Sleep was completely from Dali's mind and his own
perception of how the art is made. The Stark contrast of
challenging values between the two works is shown in the
purpose of the work, and how it was made and who it
was made for. Being a part of a book, Learning Walk is an
illustration within a "Childrens Book" I say it this way because
it can be used as a children's book being filled with poetry
and mostly pictures. This is in stark contrast to the work
that Dali created, as its function was to enlighten populous
and for them to question reality and fantasy.
Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/
Summary of Findings
With the separation of intention and purpose of the works,
being to back up literature, and to express and enlighten the
viewer, these two pieces are in contrast. Both use similar
formal qualities within their work, yet they use them differently
and end up with different ideas and pieces in the end, despite
using similar techniques
Cultural Context Contrast
The context that was behind the creation of "Sleep"
is in a deep contrast to "Learning Walk" as they
were not only made in completely different periods
of time, Sleep being made in the 1930's and
Learning Walk being made within the early 2010's,
they also have a complete social and contextual
divide as the two artists lived in different parts of the
world. Salvador while creating the piece was dealing
with the Spanish Civil war within his mind while
creating the piece, having that conflict in his brain,
and having the worries of his country maybe failing
within the war, while in Jacek's time, He lived in
Poland his whole life, this influenced his work as he
had made it during the early 2010's bringing in
aspects of his life, as previously discussed, like the
background and foliage of the forest.
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali
(1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp
Formal Qualities
In Dali's work, there is a heavy emphasis on
colors, as there are many contrasting colors
present, this is used to give emphasis on the
foreground making the viewer look specifically at
the giant brown contrasted face compared to the
light colored gradient from the middle to the top
using titanium white and cerulean blue to cause a
sort of Beautiful sky like gradient. This is not
present within Learning Walk as there are mostly
muted and dull Brown and grey tones used to
unify the piece instead of segregating it. The use
of Line between the two pieces is much different
and in great contrast, as the Learning Walk uses
line to emphasize the realism within the piece,
having distinct and realistic borders and lines,
which is in great contrast to the more flowing and
less coordinated lines of Sleep as it gives a more
corporeal view to the piece.
Contrast Analysis of Dali's Works
Function and Purpose
The Function of The Persistence of Memory in contrast to
Sleep, these two pieces were made within similar time
spans, both being in the 1930's, but they both took
different ideas from the surrealist movement, being that
Dali was the forefront face of the movement He came up
with most of the conceptualized ideas for the art works
made. The Persistence of Memory tackled the idea of
time and space, while the idea of sleep was to confront
the face of Depression, anxiety and fear of the real world.
The Function of Sleep in contrast to The Persistence of
Memory, shows how the ideas of society clash, with this
being represented in the ways that the piece was made to
be used, it was made to be an eyeopener, or an eye
closer depending on what the viewer believed in, Showing
them that dreams are more than just pictures in our head,
and actually visions of distorted reality. While
The Persistence of Memory was more of a challenge to
societal norms to deviate from what we know.
The Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dali (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection/works/790
18
Summary of Findings in Both Cultural and Purpose
Being made so close together within time, the two
pieces are fairly similar in their purpose and context,
yet have key differences that separate them and make
them amazingly unique.
Cultural Context Contrast
Being that the two pieces are extremely close in
proximity to each other both being made in the early
and late 1930's The Cultural context is roughly the
same, but there is still roughly enough to
differentiate the two pieces cultural context from
each other. This being that Sleep was made during
the Spanish civil war, in which, Dali was not involved
in, yet it deeply saddened him to watch his country
Spain, burn, and wishing he could save it.
Representing his fears into his work, Sleep is
thought to be the visual perception of him trying to
keep his ideas floating with the crutches, Showing
the broken state he was in, This is contrasted to The
Persistence of Memories ideas, being more along
the likes of a way to come together with different
Surrealists to make the original ideas of Surrealism
have a voice. This being through this work.
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali
(1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp
Formal Qualities
The use of balance is completely
different between the two pieces as within sleep,
the main focus is in the center of the piece, being
the giant head on stilts, while the balance is more
spread out and there is more movement applied
to the piece, showing a difference between the
two having the clocks and the table and the
negative space on the bottom right hand corner in
The Persistence of Memory. Given that these
two pieces do share similar techniques they
are executed completely differently from each
other. Salvador Dali used many different
techniques within his art work, represented in the
two works shown is an extensive use of Contrast
within The Persistence of Memory, which is used
to a lesser extent in Sleep.

Compare/Contrast of My work and
Dali's
The Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dali (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
Function and Purpose
Banking off the motif of time and warped reality, My
piece drew inspiration from The Persistence of
Memory But I made subtle changes to it to make it
more unique and personal to me, the function and
purpose of my work is to not only question time, and
space, but to possibly illuminate it, and alienate it. I
made the piece to be similar to the persistence of
memory but to have a different message, I wanted to
convey something more than just distorted reality.
Similar to Dali's work, Mine is heavily time focused,
and is trying to "Melt" reality. But contrast to the point
of Dalis work being that the usage of time is arbitrary
and doesn’t mean anything, I wanted to express the
reliance on time as a construct, because I believe that
time is necessary for all living things to function. While
time can be arbitrary it doesn’t mean that it isn't
important., because time still goes on, for all things,
animal, Plant, and human alike.
There are so many
similarities between these
two pieces and how they
show movement and color,
using specifically reds and
harsh warm colors to
express emphasis. Utilizing
specific reds and browns,
Burgandy in this case
because they are mixed to
create a red sand like
orange brown, that creates
a distant feeling, it's almost
alien, which is represented
in both pieces.
Summary of Findings
With the separation of intention and purpose of the works,
being to emphasize the use of time within our culture, and how
it affects us (if its useful or not.) and to express and enlighten
the viewer, these two pieces are in contrast. Both use similar
formal qualities within their work, yet they use them differently
and end up with different ideas and pieces in the end, despite
using similar techniques
Formal Qualities
The formal qualities of my work and Dali's work are
fairly similar, but there are still many differences, such
as medium, His work utilized oil paints on large canvas,
I used a mix of Gouache and Acrylic paint within my
piece, to give it a runny melting effect. Now With some
formal qualities, I wanted to sort of imitate the red and
orange backgrounds of his pieces but omitted the idea
of the blue sky in the background contrasting with the
fore and mid ground. But I did keep the contrast with the
bright white clocks and the clock hill, and creature to
keep the viewers eyes moving across the piece, just like
Salvador Dali did with his work. I wanted to bring in the
concept that he has in most of his pieces being the
hidden faces idea, although mine isn't as hidden. I have
eyes within the hill that use the swirl and the marks on
the hill to make a hidden face. Meanwhile Dali's piece
uses a different way imitating cloth and folding it into a
face like shape

Compare/Contrast of My work and
Dali's
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali
(1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp
Function and Purpose
The function and purpose of Sleep was to confront
the idea of depression and that our dreams may
actually be a subsidized reality, where instead of it
being just a simple whisper of creativity from our
mind, it may actually be a parallel universe. While
mine focuses on time as a construct of reality, how it
is necessary for human and well life's development,
as all creatures use time to decide things, such as
hibernation, food, migration, etc. I also wanted to
show the idea of how time is like a landscape, it
stretches not indefinetly, but the horizon blocks our
perception of the end of it, just like how there is past
present and future, but we can never truly know
what is at the end of that future. I made this piece to
question time as a concept, while Dali made Sleep
as a reminder of dreams, and how they effect more
than we think
Formal Qualities
My work uses a different method of
visualization to portray a more realistic and
detailed form of surrealism, as he used a lot
more detail on his faces and background, so it
conveyed a different message. That being how
While these pieces are
detailed dreams can be. I wanted to lean into
obviously more different
the more surreal aspects of the art form, by
than similar to each other,
they do share similar formal making things hazy and undefined and almost
qualities such as color melting, to give off a dream like look. Utilizing
choice, texture, lighting and texture within both pieces differently I used my
how they are portrayed. knowledge on texture to imply a bristly kind of
Both use a foreground, mid grass like look to the hills on my piece,
ground, and background similarly he used a way of making the skin
aspect to convey depth and tones and how they are painted to give it a real
movement within the piece. skin like texture when you look at the face of
Along with using similar the piece.
dark and light skin tones,
(browns, and whites, and
reds) to convey a 3
dimensionality to them.
Summary of Findings
With the separation of intention and purpose of the works,
being to emphasize the use of time within our culture, and how
it affects us (if its useful or not.) and to express and enlighten
the viewer, these two pieces are in contrast. Both use similar
formal qualities within their work, yet they use them differently
and end up with different ideas and pieces in the end, despite
using similar techniques

Learning Walk- Jacek
Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/e
Function and Purpose
The function and purpose of Yerka's
Learning walk was to emphasize a few
ideas, it was to emphasize his interests
which was automation or automatons, and
then the actual reason for this pieces initial
creation was to suppliment the poetry within
a book him and a collaborater were working
on together, called Mind fields. This is
completely different to my idea and my
function and purpose as I made my work as
a question of reality and time, which looking
at the two are leagues apart. I wanted to
create basically a social commentary while
he was supplementing another form of art
within the book mind fields.
Compare/Contrast of My work and
Formal Qualities
Yerka's Yerka's work relies heavily on texture to get its
look across to the viewer, this being within the
fetailed and very intricate texture of the grass,
The differences within the skin, the fur and even the metal of the
Yerka's work and my own clocks within the piece are all intricately
work is almost night and textured and detailed which gives it a very
day, but there are some whimsical look and almost industrial at points
technical similarities that with its orange tan skies. My piece relies much
bring them together, those more on distance and less intricate imagery as
being the usage of clocks it uses motion and movement through the
as a central piece within the piece with its kind of messy and melty
work. But most importantly
appearance, it shows a much more stylized
the color pallete comes
look to it, to insinuate contrast and different
n/ back into play, like within
values of emphasis based on positioning
Dali's work. Using warm and
brown colors like red, tan, within the piece.
white, and yellows it gives a
more sunset and even
realistic contrast with the
surrealistic motif that is
transpiring within the piece.
Summary of Findings
With the separation of intention and purpose of the works,
being to emphasize the use of time within our culture, and how
it affects us (if its useful or not.) and to express and enlighten
the viewer, these two pieces are in contrast. Both use similar
formal qualities within their work, yet they use them differently
and end up with different ideas and pieces in the end, despite
using similar techniques
 Cultural Context Compare/Contrast of My work and
Yerka's
My work was made with the expectation of transferring ideas that Salvador
Dali had really added to the universe of Surrealism yet with my very own
experience. The clock tower is genuine expected to be a tribute to the
Allen-Bradley Clock Tower that I passed by at any rate 3 times each week,
it was consistently off by at any rate a couple of moments, which appears
to be miniscule yet incorporated into the piece, as I needed to show how
time was necessary however not in every case right. Which is the reason I
made it bowed and had each clock speak to a similar worth. I was likewise
exploring oddity and explicitly Yerka's work and made my work to imitate
his Color decisions and his topical beliefs.

Learning Walk- Jacek Yerka (2012) http://www.yerkaland.com/language/en/

Cultural Context
Jacek Yerka's work was heavily based and inspired on his childhood dreams of
surrealism art and his love of nature. Jacek Yerka Creates scenes inside his
brain, Wanting to stress scenes that he is recognizable to, yet making them in
such a fantasy like setting, He puts animals he plans into said scenes to speak
to something going on inside the general public he lives in, the cutting-edge
age, making an editorial on schedule. Taking care of business who appreciates
the more straightforward things, he was extremely hard stuck in hating the
future, continually considering the past to be a superior spot, He's enamored
with the 1950's, As his type of work was spoken to generally during that period,
wishing he could return to his apparent "Brilliant Age" in spite of never truly
encountering the 50's as he was brought into the world in 1952.
 Cultural ContextCompare/Contrast of My work and Yerka's
My work was created with the intention of relaying
Salvador Dali Being an extremely taught man,
concepts that Salvador Dali had actually contributed to
and continually contemplating brain research,
the world of Surrealism but with my own personal
and utilizing those equivalent investigations in
background. The clock tower is actual supposed to be an
his craft, attempting to comprehend and clarify
homage to the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower that I passed by
the human personalities expectation and dread
at least 3 times a week, it was always off by at least a few
of death. Utilizing studies and data from "Past
minutes, which seems miniscule but built into the piece,
the Pleasure Principle" by Sigmund Freud, he
as I wanted to show how time was necessary but not
examined the way that creatures and people
always right. Which is why I made it bent and had every
respond to things that force or undermine with
clock represent the same value. I was also researching
death, by considering them outer, when Dali
surrealism and specifically Dali's work and made my work
comprehended that the manners in which that
to imitate his color pallete and his "Hidden Faces" idea.
demise can approach are subliminal, which is
As seen in The persistence of memory there are hidden
spoken to in "Rest" as it has its eyes shut to
faces within his work
shut out the outside powers.

The Persistence of Memory

Salvador Dali (1933) https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
In the time that Salvador Dali made The Persistence
of Memory, another approach to making surrealist workmanship
began to surface in the oddity local area which Salvador was
the Heart of. This new type of craftsmanship creation was
Automatism, where one loses themselves to the workmanship
they were making, letting their own subconsious make the
workmanship while they were only a vessel of thoughts. This
use of the experimentation lead Salvador to make some
exceptional pieces. Many estimate dependent on the social
setting of this piece being during the hour of WWII and having a
few associations, one of those being of Einstein hypothesis
of relativity, and Salvador reacting with "I'd prefer to consider it
more cheddar softening in the blistering sun" when inquired as
to whether the work was attached to the hypothesis.
"Sleep"-Salvador Dali 1937)https://www.dalipaintings.com/sleep.jsp