Salvador Dalí (1931 to 32). Birth of Liquid Desires [oil and collage on canvas]. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

Dali is inviting the observer into a realm of alternate reality, built on a form of realism. Modeling and a consistent light source build a relatable sense of depth. By using colors that describe the concepts of sky and grass in an expected manner, the puzzle he has set up as a “conceptual still life” is easier to access. Dali relies on deliberately applied contrasts and tension to create the agitated energy present in this work.

By placing a recognizable, if deranged, face in the center of the canvas, highlighted by a void, the observer identifies with the its condition. Masculine and feminine are blended in a dancing gesture, though the central figure is kneeling on a classical architectural object. A simultaneous conditional state is present in both figures: Insides attempting to become outside, gender, and living versus inanimate; the woman’s leg turns into a curtain rod, and her head a bouquet.

Simultaneous and polarized conditions are apparent in the forms that reference central figure’s mental state. The upward, thought-balloon inflection of the dense forms working against their fluid, downward movement; the abrupt blending of knife-like, rigid forms with softer a softer plane, and stark contrasts in value. This form’s malleable character is evident in the footprint indentations that bind it to the massive form beneath it.

Solid and liquid, the biomorphic structure appears to shift and change shape because of the mass/void interplay, indentations and surface smoothness. It’s lava lamp-like quality and size are enhanced by the tiny, dense object that rests on its largest lobe. The structure invites a second ghoul-like form to tumble into a new and equally contradictory realm, the possibility of which takes no effort for the observer to assume. Latent shifts in scale are present when the small size of the human figures is compared to the colossal proportions of the cellular structures.

Dali favors energy and contrasts, causing them to occupy the same conceptual or formal space, over stability, although the composition is stable. As a matter of fact, he did describe this painting as a hybrid of images generated from his dreams and nightmares. In the end, the interactions of the subjects and meaning of this work largely dependent on the mood and predisposition of the observer.