Prithvi Ramkumar 4/22/13 English 271 Description of a Surreal Painting: Final

The Three Sphinxes of Bikini Artist: Salvador Dali

For reference, the Sphinx in the foreground I called the first Sphinx; the tree(s) I called the second Sphinx, and the farthest Sphinx I called the third Sphinx.

While looking for surreal paintings by Salvador Dali, I stumbled past the Three Sphinxes of Bikini and was immediately captivated by the symbolism and imagery. At first glance, the three Sphinxes are immediately apparent in the flat landscape. The first and third Sphinxes look like massive human heads, protruding from the ground as if they grew from it. The hair of these Sphinxes is smoke-colored, and can be likened to a plume of smoke, perhaps from an explosion. The second Sphinx is clearly two trees that join at the canopy to make the shape of a human head, very similar to the other two Sphinxes. The conjunction of two trees to make this Sphinx differentiates it from the others, leading me to believe that this Sphinx is more significant than the other two. Off in the distance by the third Sphinx is a small mountain range, which seems to separate the first two Sphinxes from the third. The sky is cloudy (or smoky) and is illuminated by a pale yellow light that dissolves into a murky-green and eventually fades to black. The shadows of the Sphinxes indicate a larger light source coming from the right (but not depicted), and a white light emanates from behind the neck of the first Sphinx. I believe these are both explosions. The landscape is pretty bleak- without animals, devoid of color, and draped in an eerie pale-yellow veil that perverts the imagery, giving the impression of malice that not only pervades the painting, but the human condition as well. After a more exhaustive look at the painting, the imagery starts to have a more profound meaning. I see the first and third Sphinxes as mushroom clouds and human heads at the same time. The human head to me symbolizes the ego, and the ego manifests itself as the mushroom cloud (in the painting) which is a symbol for destruction. I think the first and third Sphinxes are symbols for the military-industrial complex which corrupt human values by profiting from war. The size of the heads and the orientation of all 3 Sphinxes, suggest a conformity that effervesces to the observer who is oriented in the same direction as all 3 of the Sphinxes. Maybe a political

critique is being made here: that the military-industrial complex is an institution that allows people to avoid thinking. However, this could also be a more general observation that any social structure/institution will orient people in the same direction. The second Sphinx is clearly a symbol for nature. I think the way the two trees rise as individuals but meet together at the top is a symbol for the way human societies should function and the broader point Dali may have been trying to make is that nature embodies a system of morality that is ideal, and might be suggesting a return to nature to better understand the world and what it means to be human. One of the more complex interpretations of the painting I have is focused on the perception of the first Sphinx. The first and third Sphinx are identical, but are separated. Though we cant see the faces of the Sphinxes, I get the impression that the first Sphinx is looking at the other two. I also get the impression that the first Sphinx is a little more human than the third. As the first Sphinx looks at the third from a detached perspective, it sees how the destructive nature of the third Sphinx (a symbol for the atomic bomb) threatens the second Sphinx and itself, without realizing it is the same as the third Sphinx (symbolically) and that its existence threatens the second Sphinx as much as the third Sphinx does. I think Dali wanted the observer to extrapolate this idea and apply it to the perception of self in the hope the observer would realize that he or she contributes to the destruction of the world as much as the first and third Sphinxes, though he or she probably doesnt recognize it often, or at all. The purpose of art is for the benefit of the observer- to affect the observer and their perceptions. This painting is without absolute definition and meaning (as are most interesting things in this universe) but that doesnt stop it from affecting the observer. The meaning of this painting to me comes from the change in perception that occurred in me while pondering it,

therefore, it must have a different meaning to everyone, but as long as the observer is affected, the painting accomplishes its purpose.