The Nuclear Dali of Turin (presented by S. Hawking)

Nuclear Dali of Turin (presented by S.Hawking) 46" x 56" mixed media on wood panel.

Salvador Dali was and still is, sublime, ridiculous.  If you are an artist working quietly in your studio, trying to make heads or tails of imagery involving Dali, he haunts you.  It's as if he is still calling the shots.  He chooses what stays and what goes.  Literally.  

I was working on an image late one evening in my new studio when I suddenly decided to scrap it.  The piece involved imagery of the major events and people that shaped the twentieth century collectively forming a "portrait" of Dali.  I was not pleased to say the least.  I had spent 12 hours on it.  I took the hose to it.  As the water hit the wood panel, what emerged was a very haunting image.  The paint should have come off evenly.  After all, the layers had hardly enough time to dry.  I had them all in there- historical figures, giants of the 20th century including Picasso, Warhol, Einstein and others.  The only figure that survived the onslaught is found on the bottom left.  I couldn't hack it off even if I tried.

Isn't that just like Dali?  The only figure he decided to hang with on this particular piece happened to be the greatest mind of the century.  All others were not worthy.  Dali, in his "humble" way would have wanted to leave the accident as it happened.  He would have acknowledged that perhaps a higher power was worth mentioning as witness to the happening (hence Turin, as in Shroud).  

I'm pretty sure I didn't have much to do with this piece.

Nuclear Dali of Turin (presented by S. Hawking) 56x46 mixed media on wood panel