Friday's Franchise - Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali I Domenech

Poor Señor Dali is now turning over in his grave at the thought that some nitwit American has made him not only the subject of her ridiculous blog for a day, but far worse, Friday's Franchise. Even I didn't see this one coming, not in a million years. As I mentioned Wednesday, my friend Raphael arrived from Budapest for a tropical holiday in Florida. Didn't really work out that way, as it is freezing cold here, in the 30's when we wake up at the moment, and raining on and off. Anyway, He had an idea of the must-see/must-do stuff in his head. We checked the first item off the list today, The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. (http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/)

Fantastic!! I've been here almost two bloody years and haven't gone yet. If you are ANYWHERE in this general vicinity, you need to make a point of getting there. I decided ten minutes after our visit that I am going to go back solo in the next few weeks to just sit and ponder. If I can make a suggestion, without condoning or supporting the use of illegal substances that I would NEVER partake in, it would be even better if you have some wacky-tobaccy on hand. Just sayin'. It was such a WOW! for me. I am about as cultured in the art department as I am proficient in Swahili, but I was surprised by how much the exhibition (the largest ever collection of his work) sucked me in and held me captive. There are 96 oil paintings, and the collection spans from 1917, when he was a student, to his last/late works in 1970. Incredible.

My favorite, which you really won't be able to see because the photo is tiny, is called Three Young Surrealist Women Holding in Their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra (1936)

A close second...Velázquez Painting the Infanta Marguerita with the Lights and Shadows of His Own Glory (1958)
Famous, but not one of my favorites, Daddy Longlegs of the Evening--Hope! (1940)
The only disappointing aspect of the museum, and the reason it became Friday's Franchise, was the gift shop. Holy cannolis! Capitalism at it's grossest. Dripping clock Christmas ornaments, Dali perfume, the tapas collection (glasses/plates) - Bleh! I know, they have to sell this stuff to support the museum, but do they have to sell so much of it, and turn it into a made-in-china fest? Dali's beautiful paintings, splattered on coffee mugs, hats, notepads, etc... Why does famous art always have to become an industry??

All that said, I am going to make more of an effort to be a museum girl. Avoid them like the plague, probably because I'm an art doofus. Turns out, I really enjoyed myself.