We jsut heard that Antonio Banderas is in final negotiations to play Salvador Dali in a biopic to be directed by the guy who directed CON AIR. No, we're not making that up.
But it gets weirder. This is the THIRD Dali biopic that will supposedly see the light of day in the next two years...another starring Al Pacino (DALI + I: THE SURREALIST STORY) and one staring the kid who got killed at the end of the fourth Harry Potter movie by Lord Voldemort (LITTLE ASHES).
We don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, yay, Surrealist-themed movies! But on the other hand, Dali was the most commercial and accessible of the Surrealists, so much so that he was even ostracized for embracing classicist painting techniques.
But despite his presence on every wall in every college dorm in the country, we still like Dali. And I know that's what counts. I suppose we'll simply have to remain conflicted about the biopics.
Vince out.
Showing posts with label dali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dali. Show all posts
Friday, November 07, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Surrealism in '08!
We've written a fair amount about the forthcoming election, but PSUA has yet to formally endorse any particular candidate- not that we haven't been thinking about it... Mainly we've been paying attention to campaign ads, of course they don't really count as surreal- more like not real, or at least not true, yet without any sort of artistic intent, except for one candidate, and let me tell you he was an early forerunner for our endorsement.
Ladies and gentlemen, we present the dadaist short films of Mike Gravel:
Sigh. We miss him. Is a union allowed to endorse a write-in candidate?
Anyway, the political ad landscape returned to it's boring old self after Gravel dropped out- until it got a big old technicolor stab to the eyeball with the release of this Boy George video endorsing Obama. Featuring the animated visages of Boy George, Barack Obama, David Bowie, Divine, and Amy Winehouse, it's no surprise that it's not officially endorsed by the Obama camp. But it is crazy. So here it is.
However, Obama didn't have anything to do with it, so he doesn't get the credit and we're still without a candidate. But what of all the third party candidates? True, they must be living in some sort of subconscious dream-world if they think they stand any chance in this election, but we can't in good conscience tell you to throw your vote away.
It was looking pretty bleak. Until the emergence of Sarah Palin. While she modestly calls herself a "hockey mom," she is actually one of the architects (not literally) of one of the greatest pieces of surrealist art of the last 50 years. The bridge to nowhere.
Of course, she now denies she had anything to do with it, which is disappointing, but she doesn't actually apologize for it, she just flat out denies she had anything to do with it. Which kind of seems like the sort of thing Andre Breton could get behind. Like if Salvador Dali started insisting that not only did he not paint his paintings he did everything within his power to prevent them from being painted.
Hmph.
Well we're just going to have to keep thinking about this.
Dan
Ladies and gentlemen, we present the dadaist short films of Mike Gravel:
Sigh. We miss him. Is a union allowed to endorse a write-in candidate?
Anyway, the political ad landscape returned to it's boring old self after Gravel dropped out- until it got a big old technicolor stab to the eyeball with the release of this Boy George video endorsing Obama. Featuring the animated visages of Boy George, Barack Obama, David Bowie, Divine, and Amy Winehouse, it's no surprise that it's not officially endorsed by the Obama camp. But it is crazy. So here it is.
However, Obama didn't have anything to do with it, so he doesn't get the credit and we're still without a candidate. But what of all the third party candidates? True, they must be living in some sort of subconscious dream-world if they think they stand any chance in this election, but we can't in good conscience tell you to throw your vote away.
It was looking pretty bleak. Until the emergence of Sarah Palin. While she modestly calls herself a "hockey mom," she is actually one of the architects (not literally) of one of the greatest pieces of surrealist art of the last 50 years. The bridge to nowhere.
Of course, she now denies she had anything to do with it, which is disappointing, but she doesn't actually apologize for it, she just flat out denies she had anything to do with it. Which kind of seems like the sort of thing Andre Breton could get behind. Like if Salvador Dali started insisting that not only did he not paint his paintings he did everything within his power to prevent them from being painted.
Hmph.
Well we're just going to have to keep thinking about this.
Dan
Friday, March 23, 2007
What Surreal Ain't
You hear the word “surreal” tossed around a lot these days, usually incorrectly, so here’s a quick primer, with real examples, on when we ought and ought not use the word “surreal.”
Any time you hear the word “surreal” used by an eyewitness of anything – Incorrect
Clouds swirling in a tight spiral, reaching down from the sky, and causing irreparable damage – That’s called “a tornado.”
People killed in sudden, unexpected ways – That’s called “tragic.”
Visiting somewhere in the world you never thought you’d go – That’s called “buying an airplane ticket.”
Winning a sporting event you thought you’d lose – That’s called “unexpected.”
The list goes on and you get the idea. Now for some recent, specific examples:
The VH1 Program “The Surreal Life” – Incorrect.
There’s nothing surreal about the least-known Arquette sibling and George Jefferson living in a house together unless they’re forced to strap donkeys to pianos and drag them across the living room. We all know what this show really is, so they might as well call a thing by its name: “Washed-Up Has-Been Real World Knockoff on a Competing Network.”
L.A. Times Travel Section headline – Incorrect
From the March 21 L.A. Times: “LAS VEGAS, THE CITY OF SURREAL SHOPPING. Shopping for that perfect G-string? Seeking the definitive NBA tipsheet — or a zebra-striped chaise longue shaped like a platform shoe?” I don’t want to speculate about what truly surreal shopping might be, but I know it would be far more frightening than going somewhere and exchanging money for tacky goods. Apart from the price tags, that’s the same kind of decidedly real shopping that happens at Wal-Marts all across the country every day. Always.
And here’s a shocking one from today’s St. Petersburg (FL) Times:
Headline: DALI MUSEUM’S START A BIT SURREAL ITSELF – Incorrect
The Salvador Dali Museum in Tampa Bay is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The museum began in 1982 in an abandoned marine warehouse as a venue to showcase the large Dali collection of Eleanor and Reynolds Morse. For the first five years, things didn’t go so well, but then they hired a new museum director in 1987, and he got the museum on its feet. The proper adjective to describe this story isn’t “surreal.” A better choice would be “mundane.”
Now in 1982, Dali was still alive. Knowing that, let’s see how we could fix this article, and make their application of the word “surreal” more appropriate:
“In 1982, Salvador Dali crossed the Atlantic in a homemade version of one of Leonardo DaVinci’s flying machines, and landed on the roof of an abandoned marine warehouse in Tampa Bay, Florida. After the hazardous journey, the 78-year-old Dali nearly succumbed to starvation and exhaustion, and was forced to eat his moustache to stay alive. A group of visiting pygmies attending a scuba diving academy found Dali and helped him turn the wreckage of his flying machine into a memorial to the amazing solo trip before helping him to a nearby zoo, where the artist was spoon-fed lemon ices until he regained his strength and attained return passage to Spain in exchange for doing a series of commercials for Braniff Airlines. Moved by the story of Dali’s trip, Eleanor and Reynolds Morse bought a number of his paintings and placed them in the abandoned Tampa warehouse, using only a hand-painted sign reading “Live Bait” as advertising. Now, 25 years later, the Salvador Dali Museum has become a cultural landmark.”
Now that would’ve been surreal.
Vince out.
Any time you hear the word “surreal” used by an eyewitness of anything – Incorrect
Clouds swirling in a tight spiral, reaching down from the sky, and causing irreparable damage – That’s called “a tornado.”
People killed in sudden, unexpected ways – That’s called “tragic.”
Visiting somewhere in the world you never thought you’d go – That’s called “buying an airplane ticket.”
Winning a sporting event you thought you’d lose – That’s called “unexpected.”
The list goes on and you get the idea. Now for some recent, specific examples:
The VH1 Program “The Surreal Life” – Incorrect.
There’s nothing surreal about the least-known Arquette sibling and George Jefferson living in a house together unless they’re forced to strap donkeys to pianos and drag them across the living room. We all know what this show really is, so they might as well call a thing by its name: “Washed-Up Has-Been Real World Knockoff on a Competing Network.”
L.A. Times Travel Section headline – Incorrect
From the March 21 L.A. Times: “LAS VEGAS, THE CITY OF SURREAL SHOPPING. Shopping for that perfect G-string? Seeking the definitive NBA tipsheet — or a zebra-striped chaise longue shaped like a platform shoe?” I don’t want to speculate about what truly surreal shopping might be, but I know it would be far more frightening than going somewhere and exchanging money for tacky goods. Apart from the price tags, that’s the same kind of decidedly real shopping that happens at Wal-Marts all across the country every day. Always.
And here’s a shocking one from today’s St. Petersburg (FL) Times:
Headline: DALI MUSEUM’S START A BIT SURREAL ITSELF – Incorrect
The Salvador Dali Museum in Tampa Bay is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The museum began in 1982 in an abandoned marine warehouse as a venue to showcase the large Dali collection of Eleanor and Reynolds Morse. For the first five years, things didn’t go so well, but then they hired a new museum director in 1987, and he got the museum on its feet. The proper adjective to describe this story isn’t “surreal.” A better choice would be “mundane.”
Now in 1982, Dali was still alive. Knowing that, let’s see how we could fix this article, and make their application of the word “surreal” more appropriate:
“In 1982, Salvador Dali crossed the Atlantic in a homemade version of one of Leonardo DaVinci’s flying machines, and landed on the roof of an abandoned marine warehouse in Tampa Bay, Florida. After the hazardous journey, the 78-year-old Dali nearly succumbed to starvation and exhaustion, and was forced to eat his moustache to stay alive. A group of visiting pygmies attending a scuba diving academy found Dali and helped him turn the wreckage of his flying machine into a memorial to the amazing solo trip before helping him to a nearby zoo, where the artist was spoon-fed lemon ices until he regained his strength and attained return passage to Spain in exchange for doing a series of commercials for Braniff Airlines. Moved by the story of Dali’s trip, Eleanor and Reynolds Morse bought a number of his paintings and placed them in the abandoned Tampa warehouse, using only a hand-painted sign reading “Live Bait” as advertising. Now, 25 years later, the Salvador Dali Museum has become a cultural landmark.”
Now that would’ve been surreal.
Vince out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
