Arts & Culture

~Dali & Mucha’s Special Exhibitions~ at National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

It’s always exciting when a splendid art exhibition arrives in town. When two arrive at the same time it’s even better, and WTIC weren’t going to miss the opportunity to offer its members a visit. On March 1st, a group of about fifty enthusiastic WTIC members met to enjoy a guided tour of Spanish surrealist, Salvador Dali and followed by a special exhibition on the works of the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha.

Salvador Dali – Mind of a Genius

This exhibition took us through the life of Dalí and the wide range of areas he worked in, such as architecture, sculpture, and theatre. The area our guide concentrated on was the display of over 100 watercolor pieces – ‘Dali’s Divine Comedy’.

In 1950 Dali was invited by the Pope and the Italian Government to produce a series of illustrations depicting Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, The Divine Comedy. Here Dante, guided by the poet Virgil, first descends into the depths of Hell, before ascending Mount Purgatory to finally arrive in Paradise.

As a controversial artist, the Spaniard Dali was an unusual choice to take on such a work and, in time, his commission was withdrawn. However, Dali continued the work and produced his epic scenes depicting the journey. These were subsequently transformed into woodcuts –a complicated and time-consuming undertaking which Dali personally oversaw – to prevent possible forgery of his work.

Another notable piece in the exhibition was Dali’s 1979 oil painting ‘In Search of the Fourth Dimension’ which features the famous ‘melting watch’. Also shown was ‘Destino’ - a short animated film created in collaboration between Dalí and the Walt Disney Company in the 1940s, and released in 2003. Other artworks in the exhibition included his paintings from the 1920s, stage designs from the 1940s, and works from his later life including the Mae West living room –lots of red lips for a sofa and curtains for hair.

Timeless Mucha — Mucha to Manga

This was a special exhibition about the Art Nouveau painter, Alphonse Mucha, as part of the on-going celebrations for the artist's 150th birthday.

He is best known for portraying the beauty of women, and fusing the elements from many cultures, including folk styles from the Czech, Japanese and Byzantines.

People tend to recognize Mucha’s work from the famous advertising posters including the theatrical posters for plays featuring Sarah

Bernhardt. Also well-known are ‘The Seasons’ which was also displayed. A distinctive feature of Mucha’s style was his use of long tendrils of hair, flowers and plants and flowing garments. These often spilled over into the frame of the picture. The women tend to look boldly out at the viewer, which was unusual for the time and arresting.

Mucha was a more versatile artist than we might have realized. As well as paintings, he produced jewellery, silver, glass, chairs and china. Some of these pieces were on show in the exhibition including a necklace designed for his wife.

The focus of this special exhibition was to showcase how Mucha developed his unique style of elegant, feminine lines, and explore later artworks inspired by this style. On display were foreign artefacts and books that he kept in his studio and also original sketches and drawings made during his childhood and early career.

It was a fascinating afternoon showcasing two very different artists and having an expert guide to give detailed information just made it even more worthwhile.

By Jillian Dennis Spouse of Representative British Office Taipei