Salvador Dali House - A Surreal Experience
Trip Start
May 28, 2009
1
14
23
Trip End
Jan 01, 2009
Cadaqués,
Catalonia,
Spain
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
To enter Dali’s house is to enter his creative mind and feel the soul of his many inspirations. Stepping through his tiny, Mediterrian door you are immediately greeted by a large, imposing polar bear wearing fishing garb and holding a walking cane; just a small clue as to what surprise you might encounter next.
Dali believed the center of a house was its heart and everything else was extra. It’s clear he followed his belief, as he designed and built the center of his Spanish villa first, and then, one by one, added long narrow hallways extending from its center to act as veins into other organs of his home.
To Dali, his home was another canvas in need of painting
Salvador Dali house
. Don’t walk too fast, because each corner, and all nooks and crannies were to Dali another opportunity for creative expression. So, don’t take your eyes off the walls too quickly or you’re likely to miss a carefully placed egg, clock, small sculpture, a unique creation, or mirrors strategically placed to reflect the sea and garden just outside the windows. Remember, all space to Dali was a canvas including the ceiling. If you look up, you’re likely to see a creature peering down at you or an upside down umbrella above your head. And you’d better also watch your step or you might stumble over the large sea snail crawling slowing across the room or bump into the giraffe chair. When you decide to embark down a vein from the heart of the villa be aware of the large figures waiting on the other side to welcome you into each new room, such as a statue wearing fencing gear or mannequins fashioning their exotic wears. You may also be welcomed by a portrait of Dali himself, or simply an inquiring goat. Each room an experience in surrealism. And all well thought out, very Daliesqe style.
Many of the rooms lead outside to gardens just as fantastic as the villa’s interior. Again, another canvas for a surreal experience. Large eggs precariously balanced on the roof ready to fall at any given moment
Polar bear at front entrance
. Another egg already cracked open as if to release a birth. Large touching heads perch high on the crown of the villa. Perhaps a sculpture of Dali with his wife. The gardens are adorned with flowering plants in large pots scrupled by Dali, such as giant tea cups, animals, and other unusual pottery. In art, nothing is wasted. Stretched-out in the garden, a fallen tree and leftover building materials become a man with a pitch fork laying down and taking a nap on the mountainside.
Travel past the giant tea cups will lead you to the private patio with a penis shaped swimming pool, small fountains, and plenty of couches to lay and rest. As always, don’t forget to look in all directions, including up. There are plenty of small and large, stuffed and sculpted, creatures all around to keep you company as you lounge on the private patio, including a life size elephant on the roof with his trunk stretched out over the pool.
The house ignited and animated Michael and Lorlinda’s imagination who have always had a passion for surrealism. They were also able to spot the many inspirations of Dali’s painting and appreciate why Dali was so inspired on this coast and why he chose it to build his villa.
THE END
