Salvador Dalí, 1959
Raison d'être
Paladin of a new Renaissance, I too refuse to be confined. My art encompasses physics, mathematics, architecture, nuclear science -the psycho-nuclear, the mystico-nuclear- and jewelry -not paint alone.
My jewels are a protest against emphasis upon the cost of the materials of jewelry. My object is to show the jeweler's art in true perspective -where the design and craftsmanship are to be valued above the material worth of the gems, as in Renaissance times.
Design and Inspiration
In jewels, as in all my art, I create what I love. In some you will note an architectonic sense -as you will in certain of my paintings; again logarithmic law is evident; again the interrelation of spirit and matter; of time and space.
On the relationship of time and space
Awareness of the colligation of time and space entered my consciousness in childhood. Yet my invention of the "melted watch" -first in oil and later, in 1950, in gold and precious stones- evoked divided opinions; approval and understarding; skepticism and disbelief.
Today, in American schools, my "melted watch" is presented as a prophetic expression of the fluidity of time ... the indivisibility of time and space. The speed of modern travel -space travel- confirms this conviction. Time is fluid; not rigid.
On the ascription of human characteristics to things not human
Anthropomorphic subjects appear and reappear in my jewels. I see the human form in trees, leaves, animals; the animal and vegetable in the human. My art -in paint, diamonds, rubies, pearls, emeralds, gold, chrysoprase- shows the metamorphosis that takes place; human beings create and change. When they sleep, they change totally -into flowers, plants, trees. In Heaven comes the new metamorphosis. The body becomes whole again and attains perfection.
On the frivolous character of certain Dalí jewels
Delusive! The Dalí jewels are totally serious. I am pleased if my jeweled telephone earrings bring a smile. A smile is a pleasing thing. But these earrings, as with all my jewels, are serious. The earrings express the ear, symbol of harmony and unity. They connote the speed of modern communication; the hope and danger of instantaneous exchange of thought.
On the Collection
My collection of jewels, brought together by The Owen Cheatham Foundation, will be, ineluctably, of historic significance.
To history, they will prove that objects of pure beauty, without utility but executed marvelously, were appreciated in a time when the primary emphasis appeared to be upon the utilitarian and the material.
Freed of materialism and serving a philanthropic purpose, the Dalí jewels are a new Ambassador for America -to Russia, to Europe, to all the world; a symbol of the cosmogonic unity of our century.
The jeweled pieces -ornaments, medals, crosses, objets d'art- you find in this book were not conceived to rest soullessly in steel vaults. They were created to please the eye, uplift the spirit, stir the imagination, express convictions.
Without an audience, without the presence of spectators, these jewels would not fulfill the function for which they came into being. The viewer, then, is the ultimate artist. His sight, heart, mind -fusing with and grasping with greater or lesser understanding the intent of the creator- gives them life.