How does The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory elucidate its Background?
Dalí had been greatly interested in nuclear physics since the first atomic bomb explosions of July 1945, and described the atom as his "favourite food for thought". Recognising that matter was made up of atoms which did not touch each other, he sought to replicate this in his art at the time, with items suspended and not interacting with each other, such as in The Madonna of Port Lligat. To Dalí, this image was symbolic of the new physics—the quantum world which exists as both particles and waves. The imagery of the original Persistence of Memory can be read as a representation of Einstein's theory of relativity (although Dalí himself denied the connection to the theory), symbolizing the relativity of time and space. In this new work, quantum mechanics is symbolized by "digitizing" the old image.Dalí symbolised and marked his loss of interest in surrealism with The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory as his interest in nuclear physics and religion led him elsewhere.The painting is currently owned by the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was transported to and exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne in 2009, along with many other Dalí paintings in the Liquid Desire exhibition.
quantum mechanics theory of relativity Salvador Dalí National Gallery of Victoria Salvador Dalí Museum both particles and waves atomic bomb explosions of July 1945 The Madonna of Port Lligat St. Petersburg, Florida