Salvador Dalí and Iconic Realism

      The Rose by Salvador Dalí

       photo from Google Images

    Below contains excerpts from my book, The Theory of Iconic Realism: Understanding the Arts through Cultural Context.

     

      Suspended in an azure sky, a full, red, dew-kissed rose hovers over a muddy, obscure landscape with a visual representation of humanity strategically painted directly beneath the rose, as if this figure receives the flower’s beauty.  A delicate cloud wisps above the rose, giving the impression of an omniscient breath.  In this painting, the artist, Salvador Dalí, presents the colorful visual stimulus to illustrate an iconic representation of a rose, traditional symbol of love. Moreover, the rose has long been associated with the Blessed Mother. Since May and October have also been associated with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, it is fitting to discuss this painting during the month of May or October. 

Dali places this garden flower in a detached yet dominating position within his fair sky. Although the foreground has a realistic tone, the central position of this suspended rose has a surreal quality. Through this configuration, Dalí stimulates the consciousness of his audience with his visual associations to reality of the rose, the two people, and the landscape. Using mainly primary colors, he places the rose above rather than within the landscape, hovering directly above the humans. He creates a form of symbolism representing an overseeing life force that captures a viewer’s imagination. Could he be depicting eternal Love? 

Through this painting, Dalí incorporates iconic realism by rendering an iconic form (the rose) within a realistic setting in which the iconic structure is not traditionally perceived (hovering in mid-air over a desert landscape) in order to bring an audience to a renewed awareness of the significance and transformation that occurs with the primal cultural activity of human interaction with the Divine.  

Sydney Owenson's Writing and Iconic Realism: Spiritual Connection Between Humanity and Natural Law

An excerpt from my book: 

Owenson acknowledges the spiritual connection between humanity and natural law, a common theme occurring in Goethe’s works. In one of his conversations with Johann Peter Eckermann, he explains:

Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something which is above us; for, by respecting it, we raise ourselves to it, and, by our very acknowledgment, prove that we bear within ourselves what is higher, and are worthy to be on a level with it. [1]

Owenson, then, incorporates the Romantic concept of nature’s influence on humanity’s intellectual actions while she introduces the reality of political and societal constraints through many of her characters’ struggles with self-awareness. Through this conflict, Owenson personifies the dichotomous nature of glory in which her birth nation struggles with true autonomy and its native glór (voice) to be heard. Owenson’s romantic, graceful style of writing demonstrates iconic realism through the interactions of her characters, placed in unique situations, as she awakens her society to effective conflict resolution that begins with the self.

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[1] Johann Goethe, quoted in Conversations of Goethe with Johann Peter Eckermann, translated by John Oxennford, edited by J.K. Moorhead (New York: Da Capo Press, 1998), p. 157.

Natural Order and Iconic Realism

I took this photo in Coole Park, County Galway, Ireland

If one were to gaze upon the photograph I have posted here, a sense of equality exists within the natural balance of the trees' trunks, for they vividly reflect the underground root system, the source of their immensely visual structures; yet, each tree is uniquely exposed by a natural Order. 

This illustrates the existence of iconic realism in the natural world in that it is unusual to see a tree's trunk and branches specifically revealing the source of its power. Usually, one would have to dig beneath the surface to see this, but as I walked beneath the branches of these enormous Irish evergreens, I could almost feel the life force surging from the unseen root systems below my feet.

What does this reveal in a cultural sense? Those leaders that become the most powerful, whether in government, business, education, or the arts, acknowledge that the source of their power exists within the 'root' of their successful endeavors, originating from that which flourishes from below the surface, "endowed by their Creator..."  

Saint Stephen and Iconic Realism

The Stoning of Saint Stephen

by Rembrandt, 1625

This painting is housed in le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Lyon, France

Saint Stephen was ordained one of the first deacons of the Christian faith by decree of the first apostles of Jesus after Jesus' crucifixion. He was outspoken about the hypocritical actions of the Jewish leaders. Many widows in Jerusalem were not being appropriately cared for, and Stephen made this known to the Sanhedrin. Instead of listening to his reasoning, the Jewish leaders and others led him outside the gates of Jerusalem and proceeded to stone him to death. As he was being stoned, he spoke these words, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." (Acts 7:60)

How does this act of martyrdom reflect the semiotic theory of iconic realism? 

1. An iconic, real figure, Stephen, is brought to trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin. (an iconic, realistic council in a place not usually associated with Christian leaders)

2. He believed in the Law of Moses, yet the Jewish leaders thought of him as a political and religious threat, and gave Saul of Tarsus orders to have him stoned to death. (An extreme action that causes Stephen to resist any thought of combative response.) 

Note: Saul would eventually receive the Divine calling to serve the Lord as Paul and compose many of writings found in the New Testament. 

3. As Stephen was being stoned, he was heard crying out, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." (Acts: 7:60) Forgiveness within his heart that reflected the words of Jesus before He perished on the cross. (This action brings the reading audience to an awareness of the need for forgiveness and faith in God in order for one to save one's soul.  

Saint Stephen's feast day is December 26. 

Background information has been paraphrased from this website: 

https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=137

Winged Inspiration

A Bee and a Butterfly in My Garden

Winged Inspiration

Today

a bee flies wistfully

nectar gathering for the hive.

Today

a butterfly shares the space

of time and floral beauty,

collecting heavenly nourishment.

Today

The lavender grows more alluring

in service

to its insect guests.

Today

As my eyes are permitted to view

this treasured scene

of serenity and industry,

I am compelled

to make a difference

for Tomorrow.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" and Iconic Realism

Adler Planetarium Astronomy Museum, Art Institute of Chicago

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide,

and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with

much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Above is a poem by the American poet, Walt Whitman. Here, the speaker leaves an astronomy lecture to step outside the fixed parameters and subsequently, learns first-hand the beauty in viewing the same firmament of which the lecturer speaks, but viewed simply with the naked eye, in silence. By leaving the lecture, the speaker has knowledge shared by the astronomer inside and now enjoys the silent beauty with appreciated knowledge. More importantly, the speaker has appreciation of the significance of the stars’ natural state. 

This poem illustrates iconic realism in that the subject, constellations in a contrived setting, brings the audience (the speaker in the poem) to a recognition that education of natural phenomena directly connects humanity with nature. 

I warmly thank the Art Institute of Chicago for purchasing a copy of my book, The Theory of Iconic Realism: Understanding the Arts through Cultural Context.

To hear me read this, please click HERE.

Vincent Van Gogh and Iconic Realism (Click onto title to hear Don McLean sing "Vincent" with accompanying Van Gogh paintings.)

Vincent Van Gogh

Painting by William Rock

Poetry by Huang Xiang

Translation of Huang Xiang's poetry, written in Chinese calligraphy on painting:

The painting holds high like torches 

Sunflowers turning high-heaven's blazing

SUN

To burn up the magnificent painting spirit 

stopped by a bullet

To burn down the temple of golden yellow

Opaque color -

dabs like clots of Blood

Gush fiery tears

Struggling lines feverishly erupt, 

twitching like raw nerves

The back view of a giant

Reappears

~ Huang Xiang

Starry Night 

by Vincent Van Gogh

An example of using a visual image to enhance meaning through the collective memory of a community exists within Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Starry Night. He places iconic, celestial figures: moon, sun, stars, as the focal point, disproportionate to the small, darkened village. With wide, brush strokes, he creates a memory in the form of movement that transcends the primary source of his painting, that of the cosmic link between the silent structures of society and the dichotomy of chaos and structure found in nature. 

He paints contrasts of light and dark, structure and non-structure, illuminating his audience of the need to consider his idea of the bleak constraints in many organized religions. Thus, he paints a challenge for the members of his society to consider personal enlightenment as an action that illumines the darkness of the soul. 

Through actively engaging in a positive response to our daily struggles, we become enlightened and aware of the chaos as seen in the brilliant, night sky. Once enlightened (or saved), we can attempt to make positive choices to help this world become more balanced and orderly, following the precepts set before us through our foundational beliefs. In this painting, Van Gogh illustrates his personal connection with the vast beauty of nature and many possibilities through spiritual enlightenment.