Tag Archives: Dali

Dali on My Birthday Weekend

Although I am posting this a few weeks after my birthday, I wanted to tell about my trip to the Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida. I had been there once before and was totally inspired and will say this repeat trip did not disappoint.  The museum in St Petersburg, FL is a new building designed specifically to house his work and reflects his vision in many ways, so a visit is a total submersion in Salvador Dali and a truly a delightful experience.

It was a very busy Sunday, so  we walked through the museum opposite the crowds, which allowed me to view his pieces with a different perspective.  I was astounded with the artistic development  in Dali’s work. Although, his initial pieces were perfectly crafted with incredibly detailed, they came across more simplistic in thoughts and concepts. As Dali evolved as an artist his work become massive and complex, with many underlying themes reflecting the social themes of the decade and I am sure his personal experiences. Also evident was the influence of other artist’s and masters of the times, proving even the best need others to craft their vision. Dali even broke out into different modalities, at one time designing jewelry.  This reminded me of celebrities designing a line of clothing, fragrance or jewelry.  Who knows what further notoriety and success Dali would of claimed had the Home Shopping Network had been around.

It was truly an inspirational day. My work can be viewed at Susan McAnany Photography.

Master of the Month

Master of The Month

A few months ago I started making a conscious effort each month to look at an Artist whose work inspires a level of excitement deep inside me. I find looking at different Artist’s work takes my work to a higher level and helps me define my personal vision.  I haven’t really sought out a specific artist, they usually just show up in my life. All I have to do is take notice.

One month a friend wanted to visited the new Dali Museum just built in St Petersburg, FL. I was so taken with Salvador Dali’s work, we spent all day there, which is odd for me because I usually  can only handle a couple of hours in a museum and my mind begins to roam. In addition, I bought books and continued to research more on the internet when I came home.  At the time I was very focused on compositing images and Dali’s work unleashed so many ideas in my head I felt on fire.  He was ahead of his time in thinking and creativity and would certainly be a superstar in today’s Photoshop world.

Another month I stumbled across a PBS special on Francesca Woodman, a dedicated Artist and Photographer best known for her black and white images mostly of herself and female models, often nude. She would use long exposure and movement to capture incredible blurred images of her subjects and their environments. In her short life she produced a huge volume of work that is unique and quite powerful.  Unfortunately, she committed suicide at age 22, but  her life and struggles touched me as I too struggle with the mental aspect of  balancing that inner artist with the outside world.

This month I came across a more current Artist/Photographer, Jerry Uelsmann, in my Digital PhotoPro magazine.  Uelsmann’s work is phenomenal and all done in the darkroom. I admired that right away. The darkroom is truly magical, but he takes it to another level.  Beautiful, thought provoking photo montages of surreal imagery, with the interpretation left to the viewer.  I liked reading about his unique approach to forming an image with the final step leaving it Untitled so not to influence the viewer’s perception. Now, that’s deep!  I definitely will be looking more into Uelsmann’s work this month.

View my work at http:www.susanmcanany.com.