Sunday, November 1, 2009

Salvador Dali Exhibit at the National Institution Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, Macedonia

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Salvador Dali Exhibit Program, designed by Krste Gospodinovski

"Every morning when I wake up, I experience an exquisite joy -- the joy of being Salvador Dali -- and I ask myself in rapture: What wonderful things is this Salvador Dali going to accomplish today? Every morning when I awake, the greatest of joys is mine: that of being Salvador Dali." --Salvador Dali

"I'm an exhibitionist. Life is too short to remain unnoticed." --Salvador Dali

(Quotes are from the program,)

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I enjoyed a wonderful outing with the Cvetkovskis (Vlado, Olivera, and Mary) today; we went to the Salvador Dali exhibit, which opened at the National Institution Museum of Contemporary Art on October 19 and runs through December 19.

Most art aficionados are familiar with Dali's famous melting clocks and bright (yet dark) colors and neo-surrealism themes, but this exhibit shows a less familiar side of this flamboyant man: his obsession with Dante, angels (albeit their darker and baser side), Purgatory (a very Catholic notion), and Mars (I saw at least two self portraits of Dali on Mars). There was also the pre-requisite rendition of St. George and the Dragon (Artists seem to love jolly old St. George).

What was most interesting to me was the collection itself, which spoke volumes about the collector. All were prints, with the same print number (something like 2901/4765), which means that the collector must have bought all the prints at the same time. In addition, they were all framed with the same style of frame and matte (although this design could have been the plan of the curator who installed the exhibit).

My Ticket
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As a collector of modest means, I prefer the eclectic over any obsession with any one artist. My own walls back in the states offer a bit of this and that (a lot of Macedonian artists, along with paintings found in New Orleans, at auctions, and thrift stores). While I find Dali's work interesting and worthy of a solo exhibition in a museum, I seriously doubt if I could hang onto my sanity if my walls were filled with Dali prints. I'm not quite sure what to make of a collector who makes Dali his life's work.

After the exhibit, I bought a Dali poster and then filmed some footage of the city from the hill where the museum is located with the Flip video camera. One can see the new U.S. Embassy from this hill.

It was a gorgeous Fall day, bright yellow leaves and blue skies.

After the museum, we all went to the new Tinex on Vasil Gorgev. I really didn't need much, but I did pick up some fresh bread, dried and sweetened ginger bits, dried papaya, sunflower seeds, and a bottle of Zolta (rakija), which Vlado recommended for my liquor cabinet (such as it is).

I invited them to meze (American style) on Friday. Maybe I'll make some lentil spaghetti.

Later!

The Back Cover of the Program

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