Púbol, 15 March 2012
Gala's Castle in Púbol is open again for the season. This year's temporary exhibition is devoted to the third dimension. Its title is 3D. Dalí and holography: virtual reality and the illusion of reality, it shows two chrono-holograms Alice Cooper's Brain and Dali painting Gala, as well as a film of Dalí creating this second hologram.
Ferran Mascarell, Culture Minister of the Catalan Government, inaugurated this year’s exhibition. The ceremony was attended on behalf of the Dalí Foundation by its Chairman Ramon Boixadós, Antoni Pitxot, Director of the Dalí Theatre-Museum, and Montse Aguer, Director of the Centre for Dalinian Studies.
This year the exhibition is devoted to Salvador Dalí’s research into the sphere of holography. On show are two chronoholograms entitled Alice Cooper’s Brain and Dalí painting Gala, as well as a projection of a Super 8 reel showing Dalí in the process of painting Gala in order to make this second hologram.
Content of the exhibition
The fruit of the research work is on show at this year’s exhibition at Púbol Castle, 3DALI. Dalí and holography: virtual reality and the illusion of reality, showing two key pieces that exemplify Salvador Dalí’s intense work in the sphere of artistic research based on his active monitoring of contemporary technology. That research lies within the framework of an academic interdisciplinarity that breaks down the barriers between areas of knowledge and, once again, was ahead of its time.
These works are Alice Cooper’s Brain, dating from 1973, and Dalí painting Gala, dating from 1973-74. The exhibition area is complemented with the projection of a short film made by Franc Palaia, in which we can see part of the creative process of Dalí painting Gala. That filming, shot in Super 8, shows us Gala and Dalí posing in a film never before seen in our country. The Fundació Dalí managed to acquire it last year, and is now showing it for the first time.
This exhibition sets out to reveal the exploration into new paths that Dalí engaged in constantly. Back in the 1960s, the painter’s interest in scientific advances intensified, with optical experiments occupying a major part of his works, while from 1972-73 he incorporates all three dimensions, such that from double images the artist moved naturally on to 3D. He did so firstly by studying stereoscopy, while later on the technique allowed him to play with virtual images in three dimensions and become a pioneer in the art field in the use of a new technology as innovative as holography. Dalí lays a claim to his place beyond the 20th century, though never abandoning the mastery of his much admired Leonardo, Velázquez and Vermeer.
Salvador Dalí did not create these works alone, however. On this occasion he called upon the technical collaboration of specialists. On the one hand there was Dennis Gabor, who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1971 thanks to the invention of holography and development of the holographic method to achieve three-dimensional photographs, and on the other was the holographist Selwyn Lissack, who collaborated closely with the painter over the years 1971-1975 to make the holograms we present today a reality. In them, we see the synthesis of creation, science and technique that so interested Dalí over those years, a synthesis that helped him in his quest for magic, optical illusion and the creation of universes that were his own and yet at the same time as universal as the Dalí Theatre-Museum, or indeed Púbol Castle itself.
Montage and catalogue
The montage for the exhibition was designed by Pep Canaleta of 3carme33, and the graphics by Alex Gifreu. As happens every year, the temporary exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, with design by Bis Dixit and sponsored by “la Caixa” bank and bearing the title of the exhibition. The catalogue articles were written by Montse Aguer, Selwyn Lissack and Alice Cooper.
The Gala Dalí Castle in Púbol opens its doors to the public on 15 March and closes on 31 December, and the temporary exhibition inaugurated today can be seen until next 4 November.
