10/8/2009

By: Jolene Krause

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA- Cauliflowers, pineapples, sunflowers, nautilus shells and the Fibonnacci
sequence all have something in common. Each of these elements have impacted the works of Salvador Dali.

Every first Wednesday of the month The Salvador Dali Museum hosts coffee with a curator. The curator discusses a topic which intertwines with Dali's works while guests enjoy complimentary Starbucks coffee.

"When I first saw Dali paintings 35 years ago, I thought they were a little crazy" said St. Petersburg residence Marlys Meckler. " I didn't see meaning or appreciate them until I took a class."

Vickie Brunner, the Family Programs Coordinator for The Dali Museum presented "Dali & Math", a power point presentation that also included a walk through tour and explanation of specific paintings.

Brunner explained that as early as 1927 Dali began to incorporate mathematical logistics into his art. Begining in the 1950's, his obsession with math became more prevalent. He used mathematical grids to paint, Nature Morte Vivante in 1956 and included logarithmic spirals to represent his appreciation of the spirals of nature which refer back to Fibonnaci's sequence.

"Dali had become very interested in the natural spirals that occur in nature" Brunner explained while pointing out specific instances within Nature Morte Vivante.

"I think it was because of his [Dali] readings of Matila Ghyka books." Explained Brunner, when asked her opinion on Dali's use of graphs. "He really just grasped on to the theories and mathematical layouts and embraced them and used them in his work."

Valencia Community College student Anthony Krause studied Dali's works after Brunner's
presentation. Krause began at Dali's early works from 1914 and made his way through the exhibit to the more mathematically inclined paintings such as, The Ghost of Veermeer of Delft, 1934 and The Battle of Tetuan, 1960.

"Looking at his earlier paintings I would have never guessed them to be Dali's." Krause stated, " You can see how much he progressed as an artist after getting involved with mathematics."

The Salvador Dali Museum will present its next coffee with a curator event on Nov. 4th with the topic "Dali & Science". For more information and calender of events visit http://www.salvadordalimusuem.org/.