The Burning Giraffe by Salvador Dali Paper Example

Introduction

We know that Salvador Dali was a Spanish national exile in United States. In his lifetime, he denounced politics completely but from the painting he made during his life time spoke heavily on political issues of his home country. In this burning Giraffe art, he describes it as "Femme-coccyx" to mean a tail born of a woman. On her left thigh are drawers which represent the inner man of every person. That. In his sentiments on civilization, he cited Freud Sigmund. The shapes of the two ladies is phallic. They appear to be supported by wooden objects. Their external skin is missing; we only see muscles full of fibre. In the picture is the giraffe burning which can be guessed for an impeding war. Placing the picture within the historical timeline, in 1937 when Surrealist Dali created it, his country was in a bloody Spanish Civil war. Shortly, the world war II took place.

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The elements of design used in the picture are color, form, texture, and space

Color is used very well. The two women and the giraffe are set in an azure atmosphere. The sky is remarkably blue and the giraffe on fire is brown color. They are used to illustrate with clarity the theme and characters in the picture.

The drawers effect the use of space in the picture. By beholding the image, we can feel the atmosphere. The ground is barren with sand, and the clear sky means the place is probably. These few elements are very powerful and succinct in describing what the picture comprehensively

For the principles of design, we have emphasis, balance, unity and movement. The woman at the forefront has her hands swung, intimating that most likely she was moving. The second woman in the background is holding some object high with another hand expected to catch it. The contrast was very pronounced. The background of the picture is the blue sky and the front side where the woman with drawers is dark. Thee illustrations depict the that one side was under good conditions while the other was under great suffering.

Emphasis id made on the forefront woman with drawers. the obvious question we should always ourselves is why? Why must the woman have the drawers? The drawers usually stay in the closet. By protrusion outwards as we try to understand means someone emptying their heart by speaking what is in their heart without fear or favour. The picture looks good, the objects are balanced in the photo, the color was well settled on. Another subtle but existence principle used here is the contast of the light conditions. The source of light appeared to be located to the left corner of the picture as we see the front side lighter wand the backs has a black shade.

This piece of work is a good painting of is representational visual art. Every time we encounter art from the real world, we immediately read what it is saying beneath the surface look. There is no need to have a lengthy exposition to place it in its context since there is no code in the picture. It is just what we are seeing. Sometimes we have highly complex art to pull down its meaning. Dali uses this type of visual art as part of stylization of her construct of the eminent war as at that time. oppression. As opposed to abstract visual arts where symbols ordinarily found in life could be meaning something absolutely different, we are get ample time to digest as fast as possible the burden in the heart of the artist they wanted us to know.

The picture is evidently a realistic art. Realism in art seeks to illustrate the events of life as they occur. In realistic pieces of art, human experience is the center of focus as opposed to the contours and landscapes. In addition to the old-fashioned representational approach, it emphasizes in driving home the contemporary issues when the art was invented. Non-objective visual art has nothing to do with this picture. It is only meant for aesthetic reasons. Uses of the principles and elements of art are employed to sooth the eye. In our case, the demanding matter at hand is women rights and their fight towards liberating themselves.

The 3D Presentation and Symbolic Elements in Salvador Dali's "Burning Giraffe"

The work is presented in 3D. It is practically impossible to bring out the sense of space, volume, and form with the 2D models of art. The illustrate that the woman ha drawers on her thigh pulled outwards can only occur in 3D. this methodology is important in making impressions clearer and easier to understand.

Understanding the Deeper Meaning: Sigmund Freud's Influence in Salvador Dali's Art

To the ordinary eye it may be very hard to understand by first sight the deepest import of the art. It can only be traced to Sigmund who Dali loved very much. He lived out the philosophy of Sigmund and for that reason most of his artistic drawings were coded with something from this man. The head of the woman at the front is like a polished stone. It has not parts of the head like the nose, ears and eyes. This is symbolic of someone who is entirely helpless when trouble comes. The other woman in the art is in custody of some flesh and has many crutches that the forefront one. This has been interpreted as decline of woman values and their oppression.

The towering Giraffe at the background is on fire. Fire is taken to mean strife and war. Certainly world war II did come and it killed many. Just in front of it is a man who start at the giraffe helpless. As a single man however powerful and strong you can be, it is impossible to stop the war alone. To the tail-borne woman, it is her clutches that serve her as refuse. All the world around is sinking fast in the face of war.

When I first saw the painting, I barely understood a quarter of the message. It was so deep that many people will miss out on pivotal points which are meant for our learning. After formally analysing it, I understood the political atmosphere in the art and the human helplessness in the times of war.

Conclusion

Formally analysing any piece of work brings to view what otherwise could go unnoticed. Better detail of artistic value and genre is obtained. For the lovers of art, it is that one little thing that makes one piece of art different from the other. It is by analysing in detail will the true value of an art be established. The pain artists went through, the skill and sacrifice they manifested in creating the art are brought to fruition. The setback of such an analysis is the danger of making wrongful conclusions, particularly to do with the interpretation of the subject matter. It is easy to flop from the mainstream of the artist's thoughts.

It was a pretty delightful activity visiting the museum. The literary works of contemporary artists were encouraging. I witnessed that whichever form of art you will settle on in portraying your mind, it will sell as long as it is done well. The society needs artists who understand its issues and are working through all means to bring change. While examining the works of others, one needs to be careful with the formal analysis. Else, one will lose the communicated chief theme.

Works Cited

Salvador Dali- The Giraffee.

J Paul "Principles of Design Wooksheet"