Flordali II 1981

Curator: Okay, so this is Salvador Dali’s “Flordali II,” created in 1981. It’s a watercolor that showcases Dali's later surrealist style. Editor: Wow, my first impression is one of whimsy. The composition feels almost like a stage set, with the curtains at the top. And that flower stalk with the butterflies? Delightfully strange! Curator: The “stage set” impression is very apt. Dali was always interested in theatrics, both in his life and art. You can see how he plays with space, using this strange linear perspective to create a dreamlike arena. He combines natural forms – flowers, butterflies, fruit – with these bizarre, almost cartoonish figures at the base. Editor: Right, those little figures are so bizarre, a little unsettling. It's that unsettling aspect that grips me. But even though the perspective might be 'off,' everything is rendered so delicately, almost scientifically. It reminds me of those botanical illustrations, like something from a surreal Victorian garden. Curator: Exactly! It’s a clash between order and chaos, which sums up much of Dali's later work. There's always been an underlying precision to his work that gives it impact. His intention, which you touch on here, can almost be read as a meditation on metamorphosis and the cycles of nature – birth, growth, decay. Editor: I guess it could also read that each stage of the cycle is a theatrical, performative act! Look at the way he's arranged the butterflies – pinned like specimens or... actresses in costume. Curator: Interesting analogy. One way to understand his work is as an investigation of power. And also, you see how the museum is positioned: What choices and which social networks allowed his style and these images to achieve the art world's upper echelons? Editor: Food for thought there... So many possible readings of “Flordali II,” then. Curator: Indeed, its beauty lies in this kind of openness. Editor: It has a peculiar magnetism that leaves you pondering the natural and unnatural—and all the points in-between.