The truth on “The persistence of memory”

Surrealism: a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members.
The Persistence of Memory was a very intriguing painting by Salvador Dali. It included “melted” watches and a landscape of cliffs and a body of water. The Persistence of Memory is a surrealist painting. The original title of this painting is "La persistencia de la memoria" and it depicts a fetus-like head lying on the ground, like a fish that was washed ashore and now decaying after a lost struggle gasping for air. There are four watches in this painting, three of which appear to be molten, as if made out of cheese. The only watch whose structure doesn't appear to be malformed - unlike other watches it is orange in color - is sitting on a desk-like object. There have been many discussions and arguments about what was going on in Dali’s head when he painted this work, and why he chose the objects…such as the clocks. Most people think that the watches are deterministic. “The landscapes in many of Dali's paintings, including The Persistence of Memory, resemble Port Lligat, the home of Salvador Dali. More than often Dali uses sandy beaches, corrupted by age sail boats, and other imagery he had been exposed to as a child in his home town.” (Authenticsociety.com)

What was going on in Dali’s head in unknown today, but there are assumptions of psychotic breakdowns, just plain craziness, and other explanations for his surreal paintings. Whatever was in his head enabled Dali to demonstrate his personal obsessions and fantasies by uncovering and meticulously fashioning hidden forms within pre-existing ones. Dalí was highly imaginative, and also had an affinity for partaking in unusual and grandiose behavior in order to draw attention to himself. Often times this strange behavior irritated those who loved his artwork. Because his eccentric manner sometimes drew more public attention than his art, Dali’s behavior also irritated his critics. “When Salvador Dali was just a child he was said to have hallucinations of kangaroos drowning in their mother’s pouches and he had a several imaginary friends as well.” (http://creativityandanomalousexperience.blogspot.com). Dali was also paranoid and obsessive about unusual things. All of these facts point to one possibility, that there was really was no point or “secret” behind The Persistence of Memory, just a crazy man painting a weird picture. Many still believe that there is truly no reason or meaning in the painting, and that Salvador Dali was just an odd artist trying to have fun by painting an odd picture, playing with the minds of others. There are still to this day historical and artistic discussions on this particular painting as well as many others of his, but the point is stop trying to find out this hidden mystery because there is not one. It is a waste of time. People need to understand Dali’s background and they will come to the same conclusion…Salvador Dali was a very strange man and an amazing artist, with a lot of time on his hands.