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What Is The Persistence Of Memory Distinctively Visual

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Throughout history, artists have endeavored to convey emotion, meaning and complexity within a single still image. Salvador Dali, Vincent Van Gogh and Roy Lichtenstein illustrate the embodiment of the human experience within a realm of artistic expression. Each respective artist exemplifies the power of an image to produce a statement regarding the unconscious mind, mental anguish, and the banality of industrial culture. Ultimately, they evoke a poignant story within a simple picture. The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali is universally regarded as an emblem of the Surrealist movement. However, the meaning of its aesthetic construction is mystifying. The painting features four clocks draped in a barren desert. The clocks are disproportionately bent and appear to be melting into the landscape of the painting. Additionally, there is no indication of human life. The juxtaposition of this painting is eccentric and indiscriminate. It depicts the assemblage of unrelated items. Thus, it represents the landscape of the psyche when it is engaged in the act of dreaming. The melting clocks personify the manner in which time capriciously melts away as an individual dreams. Furthermore, the psyche cannot measure time when it is engaged in the act of dreaming. In the dream world, the clock does not possess the power to act …show more content…

Humanity acknowledges the presence of the unconscious mind. However, they are not cognizant of its attributes. Like the barren and infertile desert in The Persistence of Memory, the unconscious mind is barren to the eyes of the waking mind. Dali also exemplifies the process of a dream fading from the memory of the conscious mind. He illustrates this concept through the formation of a dehydrated tree. The tree does not contain leaves. Rather, it is sapped of this essential trait. This symbolizes that the memory of

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