Student’s Name: Talamon, Apple Grace

Topic and subject course: Art Analysis GEC4

Class Schedule: 3:00pm-5:00pm
Instructor’s Name: Valencia, Jeriel Kyle

Oil on Canvas
MoMA.org/collection/works/79018 (June 18, 2022)

The Persistence of Time

Salvador Dalí’s surrealism art piece titled The Persistence of Memory is a The
well-known surrealist piece introduced the image of the soft melting pocket watch. It
epitomizes Dalí's theory of "softness" and "hardness", which was central to his
thinking at the time. The year before this picture was painted, Dalí formulated his
“paranoiac-critical method,” cultivating self-induced psychotic hallucinations in
order to create art. The Persistence of Time was completed in 1931. The art piece
present location is at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, USA.
The piece is a Oil on Canvas, and it can only be seen from one side because it is
hanging on the wall.

In the art piece we are able to see 3 watches or clocks that are like melting and a
bronze-colored watch that has ants, a craggy rocks and a cliff on the right, a weird
looking creature that has eyelashes, a clear water that you are able to see the
reflection of the craggy rocks and a cliff, and a uplifted flat board looking surface.

In the art piece those limp watches are as soft as overripe cheese—indeed, they
picture “the camembert of time,” in Dalí’s phrase. Here time must lose all meaning.
Permanence goes with it: ants, a common theme in Dalí’s work, represent decay,
particularly when they attack a gold watch, and they seem grotesquely organic. The
monstrous fleshy creature draped across the painting’s center is at once alien and
familiar: an approximation of Dalí’s own face in profile, its long eyelashes seem
disturbingly insect-like or even sexual, as does what may or may not be a tongue
oozing from its nose like a fat snail. The craggy rocks to the right represent a tip
of Cap de Creus peninsula in north-eastern Catalonia. Many of Dalí's paintings were
inspired by the landscapes of his life in Catalonia. The strange and foreboding
shadow in the foreground of this painting is a reference to Mount Pani.

This artwork is composed of shapes because it is two-dimensional. The artwork

contains some thin, straight, and well-drawn lines. The numerals on the clocks and
the eyelashes on Dali's caricature's eye are only two examples of the delicate,
intricate lines he utilized, especially on the foreground item. He also employed
distinct, geometric, organic, and finely detailed forms. Dali produced forms that
appear to be precise and intricate. On the left side of the composition, he contrasted
the organic forms of the boxes.

Because of the use of lines, the reflection of the mountains in the water appears
more realistic. The platform's and the brown object's lines are straight and
symmetrical. It is difficult to tell his lines from his shading in this picture since he did
not leave many evident sketch traces. The gloomy shadows of his surrealist world are
typically complemented by the lines he displays.

This picture has intricately drawn-out values and shading. In Dali's Persistence of
Memory, the shadows form an entirely new cosmos and represent the work's heart
and soul. Thick values emphasize specifics and color, creating the impression that
this artwork is three-dimensional. While the limp clock it is holding on its limb uses
the value to produce a tarnished and three-dimensional look, the values on the tree
are assumed to give the illusion of bark.

To get this look, the brown item also employs shading. On and around the
timepieces on the brown cube, intricate shading uses color to shadow and create a
glossy impression. The clock with the ants draws attention to the insects covering it,
while the melting one employs a lot of color on the face. The ground is a solid brown,
with intense black shadows dominating the scene. This emphasizes how much
sunshine is visible in the environment and how it reflects off other nearby items.
Instead of solely black, the mountains employ a mixture of light and darkness
blended with color to achieve this design. Along with other elements of the picture,
like the white figure and the brown cube where the two clocks are positioned, some
of the ridges on the mountains are darkened with black. In contrast to the fly on the
other clock, which only has a blue shadow of a person, the ants are entirely black and
have minimal shading. The entire body of the white figure is shaded.

This artwork's diversity of shapes and patterns lend to its distinctive aesthetic.
The painting has both recognizable and enigmatic characters and forms. The
enormous brown cube in front of the blue platform in the distant corner is also a solid
three-dimensional rectangle. These items have solid, straight lines; even though the
object cannot be distinguished, the geometric forms can.

In this picture, several items interact with one another by resting on or touching.
Clocks are an illustration of this as they essentially conform to anything they come
into touch with. This artwork deviates from all conventional forms and shapes,
geometric and abstract.

The picture comes to life thanks to the color scheme and shading. The colors are
more saturated and darker than they are brilliant or dazzling. Dali employs color and
shadow in combination to provide a unique effect.

The only recurring elements in the image are the clocks; there is no clear pattern
or concept. Throughout the piece, the environment changes to include mountains,
space, and geometric things. The vanishing point makes sense in this painting, and
the water's proximity to the skyline creates the illusion of distance.

The landscape's brighter background parts and darker foreground provide a stark
tone contrast. This contrast gives the composition the appearance of visual appeal.
The artwork's surface is also smooth. Any texture still visible on this canvas is
assumed to depict harder terrain, such as rocks and ants. Dali made a great effort to
produce a photograph-like picture to ensure his brush strokes were clean and
undetectable.

Dali also uses color to create unity and variety. Warm colors dominate The
Persistence of Memory, with a heavy emphasis on yellow, gold, black, and brown
(Warm Colors); the shades of brown in the cube and the surroundings range from
light to dark. In the artwork, many of the sun's hits, including the mountains, are
yellow. The color and shading that unify the entire piece of art give the watches,
which are made of gold, silver, and bronze, a shine. Additionally, this artwork has
cool hues like blue, white, and silver. The river, sky, trees, fly's shadow, clock faces,
and other objects all have a blue tinge that harmonizes with the warm hues in the
picture. The contrast between warm and cool hues, however, adds variety.

There is also a noticeable feeling of movement in the artwork. The melting

clocks provide an optical illusion that makes it appear like metal is flowing from
them. The ant colony on the bronze clock senses motion and disperses throughout its
surface. While the ocean below and the white figure remain motionless, the fractured
and disintegrating mountains also contribute to this movement.

However, the proportions of the other elements in the artwork do not adhere to
established guidelines. The clocks appear absurdly huge and twisted in every aspect,
yet the tree supporting the silver clock is comparable in size to the gold clock. The
overall coherence of Dali's picture evokes a range of feelings.

This work epitomizes surrealism by defying several conventions that critics and
artists had previously embraced. Salvador Dali and his perspective on life are
strongly reflected in the picture. His "dream photos" (clocking in with Salvador Dali)
are astounding, and his creative flair is impressive. His mix of hues and lighting
results in a hitherto unseen three-dimensional experience. The sculpture is
exceptional because of its natural features and bizarre animals that inhabit it, which
set it apart from the competition.

There is always a criticism predisposition present in understanding the work,

whether overtly or covertly. Due to its tone and sociopolitical commentary, The
Persistence of Memory appears to have a more profound effect on readers. It is
considered more unsettling and frightening than a pleasant or cheery artwork. The
Salvador Dali Museum claims this picture is renowned for inspiring apprehension
and terror of uncharted territory (Clocking in With Salvador Dali).
 Dali wants us to understand that life is rapid and full of choices, sometimes
resulting in regrettable outcomes, yet we nevertheless go forward. The fundamental
importance of the paintings can only be realized after going through the clocks. The
silver watch on the tree is a reminder of a more recent time. Like the gold watch, the
best years of life are slowly passing us by. For a moment, the artist wants to forget
the closed bronze clock with the ants that can stand in.

Photo Credit: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, USA

References:
The Persistence of Memory - Wikipedia
Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931 | MoMA