Salvador Dali was one of a kind. He was not only “an artist”, but a unique individual of the highest order…a world-class eccentric, surrealist, and someone who even anticipated psychedelia, all at a time when most people were fairly conservative in their ways and marijuana was still legal. And since this is Weedist, let me dispel all thoughts in that direction with a quote from the man himself: “I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.”

This guy was quite a character, who walked his anteater on the subway. Who took his pet ocelot with him everywhere. And who was responsible for some of the most amazing (OK, and totally weird) art of the 20th century. Like one which was titled “Skull with Its Lyric Appendage Leaning on a Night Table which Should Have the Exact Temperature of a Cardinal’s Nest”. That should give you an idea.

The Persistence of Memory Young Virgin Gala of Spheres Dream_Caused_by_the_Flight_of_a_Bumblebee_around_a_Pomegranate_a_Second_Before_Awakening Still Life Moving Fast ‹›

Wikipedia says: Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. Dalí’s expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.

Even people who barely know anything about art know one painting of Dali’s: “The one with the melting clocks.” The Persistence of Memory is probably his greatest and best-known work. I first discovered it in high school, and then was extremely privileged to see it in person at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where it’s (usually! but for some reason, not right now) on permanent display…on LSD. So, I have a very deep and personal connection with this particular painting, which predated lots of other timey, wimey stuff by 75 years or so.

And if you ever get to see it yourself, you too will be shocked at how small it is…barely larger than a piece of legal paper (I guess illegal paper would be the stuff that’s very thin and gummed on one edge). It’s because it’s so full of rich detail that you expect it to be much larger. Nevertheless, you can look at it for hours…at least, that’s what I remember doing.

Dali was born in Catalonia, Spain, a country which rarely gets the props it deserves in cannabis circles. The legal status of cannabis in Spain is just about the same as right now in Colorado and Washington! And Dali’s home town has the largest collection of his paintings in the world, so if you prefer to get high before viewing his artwork, which I heartily approve of, you can probably do so more safely there than in most of America. In fact, the state of Florida, where the second largest collection of Dali art can be found, just passed a draconian anti-bong law.

Maybe they just don’t like good art.

Check out other posts from Weedist’s Great Artwork While High series