Warning Comrade This Post is Preposterous
This old and much loved first edition of “Dali’s Mustache” from 1954 was given to me by my father when I was 10 – a random bit of nostalgia from his collection. The book is essentially an interview created by Salvador Dali and photographer Philippe Halsman, wherein Dali answers various questions on obscure topics ranging from psychoanalysis, ugliness and beauty, to communism -- all with a little help from his infamously “marvelous and inspirational” mustache. The book helped trigger a lifelong personal fascination with the art of the 20s and 30s.
My father had a degree in photography from LA’s Art Center College of Design, back when it was located on 3rd Street in West Hollywood. As a child I used to spend hours in his studio flipping through stacks of dusty old Aperture magazines, where I learned about Alfred Stieglitz, Dorothea Lange, Jacques Henri Lartigue, and Man Ray, photographers who later became my artistic spiritual guides. I chose to pick up a brush instead of a camera simply because when watching my father morph tubs of acetic acid and refrigerated photographic paper into art, I didn’t want to spoil the mystery.
Photograph by Imogen Cunningham
From the Bauhaus to the Surrealists, experimenting with techniques such as solarization and double exposure bridged the gap between the waking and dream state, breathing life into the imaginary world of the subconscious. In my opinion, the period of time between World Wars I and II produced some of the most fascinating photography in history.
… Just something to occupy your mind the next time you use your Ashton Kutcher-sanctioned dayglo Nikon Coolpix to Instagram grandma’s Facebook page that photo of Johnny’s new iPhone 6!
WHY DO YOU PAINT?
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