Dali and Fascism

[@Liboo52]

“[Dali] was purposefully confusing and contradictory.” Great, Dali was an internet troll

[@ramppappia]

imagine Dalì's Twitter account

[@bri1085]

@@ramppappia twitter account? comes across like he'd been very active on something like 4chan

[@niranjansrinivasan4042]

@@bri1085 lol, exactly

[@nebulis6509]

Real, very archetypal

[@ramppappia]

@@bri1085 4chan too, but on Twitter you can troll the entire world and end up in the news

[@renalazuardi3512]

"the artist whose art i love is a terrible person" have always been an interesting discussion

[@eeneranna9795]

This is such a common thing in anything that has even a slight focus on art. I mean, Magic the Gathering has this issue all the time. Teresse Nielson, Seb McKinnon, and Noah Bradley just to name a few.

[@froggykekinson4365]

what exactly makes Dali a ''terrible person'' though

[@titus4440]

@@froggykekinson4365 Well he was racist and xenophobic, for a start

[@lunacy5308]

@@froggykekinson4365 also his moustache is too good

[@darnfrick3354]

@@froggykekinson4365 When did we as a society stop recognizing prejudiced people as "bad"? Do you realize how dumb your question sounds?

[@alicethemad1613]

Dali feels like the same kind of person who, in modern day, enjoys such a position of privilege that they feel like they’re unique and separate from politics so they have leeway to use incendiary symbols and violent ideologies flippantly for shock value. Basically, because these didn’t actively threaten him, he could be edgy and just casually associate with these aesthetics for the sake of being “absurd”. But if there’s one thing the internet has taught us, it’s that doing something ironically very quickly leads to doing it unironically, and given that Dali was already not one of the groups fascism was targeting, it was very easy for him to adopt it genuinely.

[@nebulis6509]

Baby first learns about in-group preference lmfao. I hate to break it to you but ideas that can lead to “harm” against others can be correct. Think about who we harm as a democracy, Syrian children? Those are not the people I want the government to be harming. You seem to not understand that people get hurt in every system, you’ve just been lied to about certain things

[@neinno8172]

Well said

[@maydaymemer4660]

its kind of amazing how you can turn this completely unrelated thing immediately into you complaining about teenagers making memes leading to fascism

[@largeshaftzac8027]

@@maydaymemer4660 it’s a good analogy

[@NelsonStJames]

People believe what they believe, one doesn't have to be in a position of privilege to have a belief, and how people come to believe what they do, is as myriad as there are individuals. Not being able to get into another person's head, no one can presume to know how casually, or deeply anybody feels about the positions they hold. Obviously Dali was trying to express something, because that's what artists do. And while an artist may be provocative, they tend to differ from your typical edgelord in that they aren't doing what they do simply to shock you.

[@OneReallyGrumpyJill]

I love how I was 50/50 about it first, and then Dali went, "Yeah, I like, literally hate freedom." My man, that wasn't subtle.

[@fromthebackseat4865]

That wasn’t subtle? That’s basically communism compared to “yeah the white race should enslave everyone else.”

[@jjunbeatable9522]

You were 50/50 when he said he would want to have sex with Hitler????

[@derekcarney]

You were 50/50 about what- his genius? You are so easily swayed. Weak.

[@oliverhand9408]

@@derekcarney he was probably thinking about Dali's character when he said that, not his genius.

[@126theman]

Definitely hahaha

[@Tosspoet]

judging by this video he didn't just have sympathies with fascism, he was a fascist.

[@gentlemancat3100]

I want to cry now. This ruins my gay fantasies of him.

[@Dervitox]

@@gentlemancat3100 good

[@neilcicieregamybel0ved]

@@gentlemancat3100 you had WHAT

[@derekcarney]

Yet EVERY thing he made goes completely against "falling in line," tradition, and every other stupid bullet point. He was SOOOOO not a fascist. You all are so misled. So easily misled, you SHEEEEEEEP.

[@derekcarney]

Which war was he in? Who did he opress? How? What the fuck are you talking about?

[@frien_d]

I had always wondered how Walt Disney and Dalì could have collaborated as much as they did, after knowing each other for a very short time. This kinda makes sense of that...

[@ferrisbueller9991]

Best buds club

[@dstinnettmusic]

Disney wasn’t a fascist. This was a rumor invented in bad faith by labor negotiators.

[@sleepysteev2735]

How?

[@kkilljoy3588]

Please elaborate for those of us who don’t know squat and v much want to know all about the squats!

[@biodegradablematerial1800]

I didn't know that, can you elaborate?

[@colspaimmaca]

Having just a surface level knowledge of Dali and just coming came back from the Dali museum in Florida, this video was extremely enlightening. From the museum I could gather that he was a troubled individual, but having this real historical and political context that the museum lacks is extremely important.

[@Blue-wz5um]

The image of dali that the museum portrays is 100% intentional. It's difficult to be a local gem and maintain strong community outreach/ k-12 educational programs (i do highly support the museum's educational outreach) when your mascot is a Hitler loving pedophile (i say pedophile due to a specific written work of his called reverie. Look it up with caution, it was very shocking to me when I first read about it)

[@colspaimmaca]

@@Blue-wz5um definitely agree. But holy shit just looked that up. Fucking insane.

[@Blue-wz5um]

@@colspaimmaca i learned about it from the biography the shameful life of Salvador dali which happens to be the book he cites at the end of this video. It's an excellent book that i would highly recommend. The author of the book occasionally editorializes with dry wit comments on the bat shit facts of dalis life that he recites but even without the author's commentary, the details that he includes speak for themselves about the kind of person dali was

[@colspaimmaca]

@@Blue-wz5um sounds awesome! Will check out if I get the chance. Thanks!:)

[@artemis199]

The Florida art museum is where I fell in love with his art when I was 12... Definitely glad I watched this video to get a new perspective of him.

[@nicholasrevill6610]

The part between Lorca and Dalí is especially sad once you realize that they used to be very close and some people even considered them lovers at many points

[@aelspecto]

He admired his friend killer, at this point, Dali may be a big candidate for the most spineless man in history...

[@javierviana96]

The miniseries Lorca death of a poet explores this issue

[@imarobot8204]

Dali hated Lorca and Pablo. He hated any artist that wasn't him.

[@victormorgado5318]

The lover part was explained in Dali´sister's memoir about their family life.

[@amp9930]

@@imarobot8204 That is untrue. Lorca was his best friend and they met up a short while before Lorca was killed when Dali was travelling with Edward James.According to Jame's they were both estactic to meet each other once again.

[@redadamearth]

This is common knowledge among anyone who's read about Dali and not just appreciated his paintings, but it's good to let people know about it who might not. It's one of the examples that's often brought up in the debate over whether a "bad" person's art should still be loved/taught, etc. The most ironic thing, of course, is that most fascist governments would have burned his paintings as subversive.

[@zeeeeroin9981]

His art is fantastic. Revolutionary and largely imitated to this day.....but in most interviews and articles I have read or seen....he came across like the club kid who tries too hard....seeing his political side has been enlightening indeed....

[@etsequentia6765]

wtf is a "club kid"? what club?

[@zeeeeroin9981]

@@etsequentia6765 that is a term used for rave goers and night club patrons. A lot of those types in New York and L A are super outlandish and wanna be weirdos.....at least from my experience.

[@etsequentia6765]

@@zeeeeroin9981 Thank you for answering. But other than some extroverted behavior, I'm not seeing the connection. Guess it works for you. One more thing of note - super outlandish and wannabe weirdos are definitely not unique to club kid culture. Thanks again.

[@b-r-a-i-n-r-o-t]

yknow i enjoyed the art analysis videos but once you got a guy who lived through francoist spain to say "there are fascists operating within the federal government of the united states" i knew you were dope and had to sub. thank you for the analysis

[@metatrontumultum1860]

Damn Dali was basically the Kanye West of the 1930s

[@anatine_banana_69]

Too bad superbad wasn't released yet

[@paranoidandroid6691]

@@anatine_banana_6921 jump street*

[@anthonyprince7989]

bro I thought the same!

[@dogfat.]

I really wish there were subtitles for the interview.

[@jordanhedington2421]

Great video! Just a side note: The Spanish republicans were not alone during the spanish civil war: they had brigades from many countries known as the international brigades with fighters from France, Italy, Germany, Poland, United States, Ireland, Yugoslavia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, and Australia to name just a few

[@maximilianolimamoreira5002]

he is talking about the lack of direct intervention of western countries in the side of the Spanish republican government

[@jordanhedington2421]

@@maximilianolimamoreira5002 ah ok that makes sense

[@maximilianolimamoreira5002]

@@jordanhedington2421 there was a kind of neutrality agreement between France and the UK, to avoid direct conflict with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, so, the volunteers from these two countries, and others to some extent, wanted to punish the volunteers for violating this agreement, though, latter, they learnt that these men and women weren´t wrong for fighting against fascism.

[@tomtomtrent]

@@maximilianolimamoreira5002 in some cases, the governments didn’t even learn that. In the US, a lot of people who supported the republicans were labeled as “premature anti-fascists” and persecuted during the Red Scare

[@Melaka_Pill]

@@maximilianolimamoreira5002 and they still lost hahahahahah

[@TheLily97232]

As a man that took part in a movement that prones so much freedom that it encouraged unconscious creation, Dalí saying he hates freedom is hilarious. He was obviously lost in the sauce, if not outright so self-absorbed that freedom was only for him but not for others

[@nothingineternityterms]

@Lee I doubt you understand much.

[@Flozone1]

He and some other Southern European fascists have quite a nostalgia for the aristocracy. They want that aristocratic flair for themselves and see themselves as part of an old nobility. As such they have privileges, while others do not.

[@bozhanaslavkova3291]

I think he sees freedom in a philosophical, not political way. The way I interpret it - he sees the dangerous and scary part of freedom, Hitler got the freedom to rule but he used it "mazohisticly". In his paintings Dali uses freedom but he also he also shows how scary it can be. He bends to some rules and abandons others. Freedom is not bad but it can be dangerous (and a lot of times freedom is not what we think, it's fake, that's why "freedom is shit")

[@maestro3947-b9g]

@@Flozone1 this remember me of Jorge Luis Borges and his weird relation with the military dictatorship in Argentina

[@maestro3947-b9g]

@@Flozone1 and also the rich descendants of europeans in Brazil...

[@jamessnazell3865]

The relationship between Bunuel and Dali is interesting they started out together making films that were anti-bourgeoisie, there to shock the establishment and to also criticize the Conservatism of the Catholic Church. After making 2 films together they drifted apart. In 1940 Dali went to New York and whilst there his fame soared. Bunuel went to New York in 1939 got work with MoMA. It was the only job Bunuel could find in the US who had a wife and two children. One day, the hugely successful Dalí blithely called Buñuel an atheist in an interview and Buñuel was promptly fired from his post. It was from this that Bunuel came never to see or speak to Dalí again. The way these two artists diverged is interesting Bunuel kept the ideals of being anti-bourgeoisie, questioning the establishment and criticizing the Conservatism of the Catholic Church. A faith Bunuel was brought up in. Whereas Dali came to accept Catholicism, the bourgeoisie and importantly a deep rooted conservatism one that accepted eccentrism and connected with the blurred definitions of fascism. Whereas Bunuel had to leave Spain for the US because of his support of the republic. Having worked in various propaganda capacities in Spain and France that made him a political exile to Franco and the Nationalists. Dali escaped Europe coming to New York to start his journey with narcissism cultivating a fame and fortune that earned him the nickname “Avida Dollars.” In his eight years in the States, Dalí designed shop windows for Fifth Avenue, collaborated on set design for ballets, worked on two Hollywood films including for Hitchcock. His developing obsession from his time in the US with celebrity, fame, mass media, the paranoiac, narcissism, the cult of the individual and the ego, all make sense when one starts to relate Dali to ideas and sympathies around fascism. Just as Donald Trump can be seen to connect with all these things and can be seen to connect to ideas and sympathies around fascism. It is interesting the way Bunuel and Dali came to be having opposite sympathies to a political coin.

[@adenizenabroad9593]

Holy fuck, this might come off as spectacle horny but a dali vs bunuel feature film would be pretty based

[@scardon1940]

This is the most well written comment in KZbin history

[@richardfinlayson1524]

Very interesting, good on you mate.

[@VuotoPneumaNN]

I seem to remember that Dalì actually outed Bunuel as a communist, not an atheist.

[@jamessnazell3865]

@@VuotoPneumaNN 1942 saw the publication of Dali's autobiography The Secret Life of Salvador Dali. In it he mentions that Bunuel was an atheist. When the Catholic Church authorities in New York discovered that he was an atheist, they put pressure on the New York State Department to get him fired. In the end, Bunuel was so disgusted that he resigned and then confronted Dali in a New York bar. In Bunuel's memoirs he says, "I was beside myself with rage. He was a b-----d, I told him... his book had ruined my career... I kept my hands in my pockets so as not to strike him.' I'm not sure how much Bunuel actually confronted Dali in the New York bar but nonetheless this was the last time they shared each other's company. Their friendship had already soured prior to when they were both in New York around the time of the production of the film L’Age D’Or, Dali was involved in the writing of this film but they had a falling out prior to production starting and in reality it is not a Bunuel and Dali film it is more of a Bunuel film. For Dali the drifting apart from Bunuel around the time of this film included a dislike of Bunuel's political views and his leaning towards Communism. For Bunuel L’Age D’Or, was the turning point where he drifted away from the Surrealist movement and more towards the influence of Communist views. This time was also a pivotal time for Dali because it was in 1929 that he first met Gala who came to have a profound influence on him. Gala was a Russian Jew and would have an influence on Dali in terms of influencing his religious viewpoint. Gala being Jewish also played a big part in their decision to leave Europe and go to New York. So this is a long winded reply to say that Dali did state that Bunuel was an atheist but it was also in relation to what Dali would describe as disliking what he saw as Bunuel being a Communist.

[@ELLHNIKA]

The “surrealists” should’ve let Dali’s art remain the way he originally wanted, so there will be no vagueness of what his ideals were to future generations.

[@sourgreendolly7685]

Why should other artists drawn to the style hold back just to show his ideals? Why is having this conversation (as with this video) not enough? Genuinely asking.

[@Blue-wz5um]

Dalis association and connection with the surrealist party meant that his work would stand to an extent as a reflection of the surrealists beliefs as a whole. I would guess they made him change it as a compromise instead of kicking him out of their group entirely. The surrealists tried multiple times to cut ties with dali, as explained in this video, but each time he would just barely explain himself away. Dali and the surrealists both benefitted from each other. I assume it was the best course of action at the time to simply have dali remove nazi iconography from his painting. When it got to the point where they could no longer deny dalis fascist sympathies the surrealists did cut their ties with him. And I dont believe they ever tried to hide or obfuscate the fact of his fascist/hitlerian sympathies. Tldr; dalis connection with the surrealists was complicated and I dont believe the change in the painting was intended to hide his beliefs but rather to compromise with a man they were desperately trying to believe was not a fascist

[@jemmapellemma8185]

@@sourgreendolly7685 Honest answer. Because we have to have this conversation or watch this video instead of being able to: just look at a Dali painting, see the fascist imagery (the Nazi armband for example) and conclude "oh obviously: Dali was into fascism." It must be understood that we are _not_ merely talking about surrealism as a cultural movement - we are talking about "The Surrealist Group" which you had to officially join, and could be officially expelled from - as Dali was. The Surrealist Group was not, as you suggest, "artists drawn to the style" - no, these were instead a specific group of creatives that all knew each other, and so they made Dali censor himself so as to not make it seem that they, or the group, condoned Dali's fascist ideals (which they did not).

[@nebulis6509]

People like you are why I agree with Dali lmfao

[@SlashCampable]

@@nebulis6509 Don't cut yourself on all that edge bro.

[@SheilaTheGrate]

I have long known how problematic Dali was, especially after reading his autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dali. I subscribe to "even a broken clock is right twice a day". You can enjoy art made by terrible people as long as you recognize that they are, in fact, terrible people and not to be emulated, and teach how terrible they really were. Even better - find out who were the other surrealists and enjoy their work.

[@Stigstigmamatata]

a lot of the surrealists were pretty horrible but dali took the cake for fascism, for instance I like a lot of breton's poetry but recognize his xenophobia and rascism. but yeah the whole cannon of art is a smattering of bad people making things that take the publics breathe away

[@richardpowell1772]

I like him even more.

[@Seeker12x12]

Indeed. For example reportage indicates that Picasso was often repellant as a person. By extension of virtue Chè Guevara was a murdering rapist and Marx was an irresponsible neglectful husband and father as well as a fraud who refused to pay the bills he ran up with local artisans and shops. It really isn't fair to put anyone on a pedestal. We all have feet of clay.

[@sofia8194]

I don't think the bottom line of the question is the personal enjoyment of an individual's art, but having the tools and capacity to look at it with a critcal point of view, and how it perpetuates or comments on certain topics

[@thenowchurch6419]

He was a flawed person, not terrible. Terrible is a bit hyperbolic.

[@XanderVJ]

"Separating the art from the artist" is 100% impossible for multiple reasons, but the thing is, I think that framing is dishonest. Let's face it. We don't really care about whether the art and the artist can be separated. We don't give two craps about that, because it's not really about the author, or even about the art. It's about ourselves. What we really want to know is if, by enjoying a piece of art made by a bad person, we are doing something immoral ourselves. If we somehow get some sort of blood on our hands because our enjoyment is helping evil to spread, however indirectly it may be. I don't know what the answer to that maybe (right now I'm more inclined to "no" for multiple reasons that are too long for a KZbin comment format, but I might either change my mind or double down as I grow older, who knows), but I think it would be more productive to frame the debate in that way, rather than the "separation" wishful thinking thing.

[@luxill0s]

To sum up an argument I saw elsewhere: we want to know if what we consume is “good,” if it makes us “moral,” because it is our only outlet of control in a world where what you consume is top priority. We can measure ourselves and others based on the morality of what we consume. You can like something and not agree with the intended motivations behind it. The perception of what an artwork means to someone is up to that someone. The artist leads the viewer to water, but that does not mean the viewer will drink. They may just stare at their own reflection.

[@nebulis6509]

Wait til these guys get to heaven or hell and find out that fascism is literally the closest we have to a morally good governmental system in the modern world

[@patricknorton5788]

I no longer (for the past thirty years) listen to Miles Davis because of his reported treatment of women. Just can't enjoy it, however talented he was. But I can't say that I can hold myself to this standard in every area. Homer, for instance- I have no idea of how a decent person he was. But we do need to have standards, and to raise them when and where possible.

[@luxill0s]

@@nebulis6509 Fascism is a system that forms hierarchies of the worth of human beings based on idiotic criteria. Yet it is "morally good"? I think your moral compass is in an entirely different gravitational setting...

[@nebulis6509]

@@luxill0s imagine thinking fascism assigns different moral worth to different individuals, you are literally just brainwashed, we are all equal in the eyes of God, but hierarchy is not only natural, it’s a metaphysically reality. And there’s nothing you can do about it lmao

[@WobblesandBean]

Dali was a weird man. I'm not convinced he was legitimately a bona fide fascist, more than he was contrarian to an obnoxious degree. He was obsessed with going against the societal norms, regardless of what that looked like. His dedication to being "anti popular opinion" got him in trouble. Societal expectation was to get married, have kids, and be monogamous, so Dali was very loud about doing none of that. Part of me thinks he only spoke of Hi†Ier the way he did was because it was controversial to support him in any way, shape, or form.

[@schmlif8839]

Maybe he didn't consider himself a fascist but he sure did act like one. At the end of the day, actions speak far louder than words At the end of the day how different is a fascist from a "non fascist" if they both act the exact same way?

[@weatheranddarkness]

I think Amelia, if it were just the images in his paintings that would be a decent perspective, but his active support of, and friendship with actual fascists, i think goes a lot further than say Siouxsie Sioux wearing a nazi armband for a show. That was all about about just rustling jimmies, and she disavowed the nazis outright. I think whether it got him in trouble or not isn't the question, it's more about what he's getting at, what are the between the lines truths and consequences of his ethos, and influence.

[@Ozhull]

Doesn't matter what his intentions or thoughts were. Act like an asshole long enough, even in parody, you're just going to become an asshole.

[@derekcarney]

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!! Amelia nailed it. Finally someone will some sense in their brain. YOU NAILED IT. This is exactly what was in my head but couldn't articulate it due to the RAGE AND ANGER that these fools have sparked in my soul. THEIR NONSENSE could literally mislead fools with no thoughts of their own to destroy such irreplaceable masterpieces.

[@mackcyran5939]

The portion of the video where the author criticizes Dali for not taking a similar political stance like Picasso on a painting of the same subject matter really highlighted that. Why should we be spoonfed information through the art we look at? Dali really challenged the viewer if you take a non-partisan look, we don't have to agree with works to find them profound.

[@guillemmoreno5522]

Just a small nitpick: you pronounce several Catalan and Spanish names as if they were French. They're not.

[@dovette3595]

también pronuncia la u en Guernica aunque no tenga diéresis

[@lucasosis]

I was digging for this comment ;)

[@derekcarney]

I love you, Guillem. Thank you. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!

[@m.s.9744]

That's because he's a Facist 🤞

[@Frodanatee]

Great video. Never understood why this part of him was not highlighted more.

[@psykodactyle]

Dali's Enigma of Hitler is the debate-bro "Change My Mind" of surrealist art

[@adriavalls2402]

Good video! Also, it was funny how you pronounced all the spanish and catalan names in a french accent.

[@lilschleem1640]

i was thinking this exact thing

[@screaminglemon3642]

kinda annoying tbqh

[@joaquinbaume1291]

yeah i was so confused lol

[@donsanchodelapanza]

He didn't pronounce Eco's name correctly though :(

[@legoqueen2445]

Love his artwork, strongly dislike him as a person. My impression is of an astute business man who hid behind eccentricity to ride out whatever brought him the most controversy and as such money. Someone in the comments described him as a 'club kid who tries too hard' which I'd say is spot on if you see club kids as ultimately bored with society, acting like court jesters in hope of attaining enough interest in their creations to sustain their lifestyles (a bit cynical I know but things got quite dark in club kid scene).

[@derekcarney]

As someone who was in NYC and hung out with many of the club kids at that time, you are really not too bright. Dali lived his life completely as performance artt. The club kids were like dollar store versions of wanna be freaky, famous, and talented without the talent and with LOTS of mindbending concoctions in place of the talent. HIS PAINTINGS are masterfully rendered. His work in every way was so far ahead of everything that came before it and among his peers he raised the bar on every level. The man will always be a genius and nothing you sad nothings that have never made anything that anyone in the future will ever make a video about or mention in a book can say about him will change the fact of his genius and the amazing body of work he created. I think you are all jealous. So sad.

[@emmasimon4005]

​@@derekcarney bro my man was explicitly a fascist, no matter how good his art was

[@derekcarney]

@@emmasimon4005 What did he DO? WHO did he hurt? What negative impact, result, damages? Otherwise you thought police should kick rocks.

[@emmasimon4005]

@@derekcarney do you really see no material impact from being a public figure who directly and loudly supports and befriends a fascist dictator? supporting fascism, especially with that much vigor, makes you partially responsible for the horrors of a fascist state.

[@legoqueen2445]

@@derekcarney as I said, love his artwork, strongly dislike him as a person. I don't think you'd find many who dispute his genius. But what the video documents was Dali's tendency to align himself with fascists and Catholic conservatives even when these agencies were committing crimes against humanity such as what occurred in Spain's civil war. For all his charm and whimsy when interacting with American media (which in turn lead to millions being made by Dali) Dali himself didn't support democracy or freedom for the masses (ie. American values). He valued his own personal freedom and liberty, which is why he kept on the right side of those in power in Spain, but he didn't see those rights as universal. Definitely his artwork was genius, amazing, unique etc. But as a person he was not very likeable. But it's interesting you say Dali lived his whole life as performance art. To me his whole persona of being quirky, saying things to get reactions etc was all done to sell more of himself, ie. make more money. As for the original club kids, I love the who faux celebrity/create your own character playfulness and creativity of the scene. It very much echoes Andy Warhol's Superstars era. It must have been fun to have lived it though I'm guessing you saw a lot of dark stuff too. It's interesting you mentioned people taking drugs to make up for a lack of authentic talent, that makes me wonder how many of the Club Kids doing interviews on day time talk shows were the true creatives and which ones were just trying hard. I'm a boring 90s kids, a lot of grunge, a bit of raves then some New Age festivals and travelling around the world until settling back home in Australia. I love pop culture and wish I had a time machine to go to New York during Studio 54 and the early Ballroom scene plus London in late 70s and Early 80s so I could ponce around as a New Romantic. Would def hit HebeGeBeez around that time to check out Talking Heads. Damn it Derek Carney, I'm not jealous of Dali but am jealous of you if you were part of that whole era!

[@dagnarmckneely7814]

Just found this channel, love the video and formatting of it. Very informational, my only gripe is that while there were subtitles for when you were speaking, there were none for Mr. Navarro. I understood most of what was being said but I think having subtitles for the person being interviewed would be extremely helpful. Keep up the wonderful work. 💗

[@allanrichardson9081]

Yes, the oscilloscope tracings are harder to understand than the speaker’s accent!

[@gustavderkits8433]

Thank you. This presentation was not enjoyable, bu was edifying. You made your case. I am sadder for that knowledge. I was always aware of Dali as a catholic iconographer (strict sense), but loved his application of psychology and perception science to his art. He was a great technician. No artist can participate in a movement to elevate barbarism against the many for the purposes of an elite few and not diminish his humanity. There is a constant tendency of critics to divorce the object from its creator. That is as wrong for paining as it is for dance.

[@desanctisapostata]

Why is it wrong tho? Ethics and aesthetics are (although closely related and interwoven to each other) after all diferent things, and in strict sense, they are even opposites.

[@desanctisapostata]

@Anonymous D?NGO exactly!!! Moral has always and will always remain relative to space and time.

[@ouroboser]

@Anonymous D?NGO It is impossible to separate art from the artist. The artist created the work to share their worldview and beliefs. As a musician, even my most apolitical works are deeply affected by by politics and experience just as much, if not more so, than my contemporary influences. However, we still don’t throw out work from 100+ years ago because the generation who was alive and curated that generation’s artwork already sifted through much of that. Furthermore, we should not destroy fascist art, as that makes us no better than fascists, nor should we destroy any art from any time period that moves counter to the culture or movement, but it is eternally important to discuss their contexts, creators, and motives for the sake of education and freeing the minds of all observers to come to their own conclusions.

[@hotboxhearse]

​@@ouroboser if you want to treat the concept of separating art from the artist like that it is such an unuseful phrase. people use it all the time because they enjoy music but denounce whoever created it. saying "um ackshually you cant but thats fine" is such a weird noncognitive, pseudo high ground to try to take. the phrase is incapable of being literal, and is solely used to communicate the idea of "i dont support this person, i just enjoy their art". that is literally all there is to it. no need to act like its deeper also what the fuck do you mean by "the artist created the work to share their worldview and beliefs"? are you really convinced that no one makes art for the sake of art, whether it be beauty or for the fun of creation? and the person you are responding to never even claimed to want to destroy fascistic art, you are literally restating their point in the second half of your comment, they dont want to destroy art no matter how controversial or outdated. you are fucking fascinating. i really hope all you said was coming from your egos desire for people to agree with your empty "smart-sounding" blabber and not you attempting to think critically or logically, because that would be an embarrassing attempt at any sort of unique intellect

[@nebulis6509]

@Anonymous D?NGO real, most people today have no historical literacy so they think that the things they feel and think are normal, when in reality we are a unique couple of generations and if you go back, not even 100 years, if you go back before a certain large event where many people supposedly died then you’ll find people think a little differently than you

[@overlookers]

The Surrealists: _WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE NORMAL_ Dali: **screeches in melting clocks**

[@gavinreid2741]

Dali had a brief impressionist phase when young. When studying art in Madrid Dali was deeply interested in Cubism , even boasting that he know more about the subject than the teachers.

[@SnazzyGoodTimes]

Sounds like Dali was the original Kanye

[@Strange9952]

No.

[@theohaegele9011]

This is exactly the youtube channel I've been looking for all these years! Thank you for doing what you do!

[@Shawn.Grenier]

That warms my heart!! Thank you and welcome onboard!

[@petrapino6948]

I had no idea about the depths of Dali's fascism. Thank you so much for documenting this.

[@SnackPackSilkens]

I found your channel as I have had Magritte on my mind and I am very glad I did so. This was a well done and informative video.

[@Shawn.Grenier]

Thank you very much! Glad you appreciated :)

[@GabrielleFct]

00:55 bad translation… he says a “grand” character, in the sense of a famous and well-known character. He did not say “great” in the sense it is understood in english. doesn’t affect much of ur video, but i’d thought i’d specify this as a frenchie.

[@Eudaimonia88]

This is a fabulously researched and insightful video. One suggestion: could you post subtitles for the recording of Professor Vicente Navarro's commentary? It is extremely difficult to understand him due to his accent.

[@adrianbrody1683]

The Spanish Republicans were not alone in their fight, as you claim, but had support from the Soviet Union. The Republicans were, in fact, increasingly pro-communist as the war dragged on. So much so that streets in Republican controlled Valencia were renamed to the names of communist figures like Marx and Lenin. It’s a common misconception to portray the Republicans as simply being “Democratic”.

[@gaffgarion7049]

Well the channel owner is a communist so he doesn't care.

[@guillemmoreno5522]

True. It's also true, however, that Communists and Anarchists never represented the larger bulk of Republicans at the time.

[@gaffgarion7049]

@@guillemmoreno5522 Lol you can't be serious!

[@SirPercival13]

The rising prominence of the communists during the Civil War is due to a number of factors, ranging from NKVD intervention to the PCE's organising capabilities. For instance, the communists produced the most effective fighting forces of the conflict. Also communists want a democracy for the working-class, communism and democracy are inseparable. Please see look outside of Cold War narratives and propaganda

[@bobdots5974]

I know that I come to this discussion very late, but I thought it was interesting at the end of the video that you asked "Have I convinced you [the viewer] that Dali was a fascist?". The answer is "no", but only because it was Dali himself who convinced me that he was a fascist. His words and actions solidified that fact in my mind, regardless of his early dissembling on the question. The next question which has been alluded to by earlier replies in these comments, would also make another great video for you to produce - how do we receive his art now, given his background and what we now know about the man? This was a wonderful video and I get great value from all your work - thank you.

[@shannernanner]

There are no captions when Navarro is speaking, as someone with hearing issues I would like to be able to understand all of what he’s saying.

[@andretyroneii941]

There is CC!

[@shannernanner]

@@andretyroneii941 There is for the video but I didn’t see anything when Navarro was talking.

[@andretyroneii941]

@@shannernanner when I get to the part when he's speaking, I try to write to you what I heard, if you still need

[@andretyroneii941]

@@shannernanner I'm not hearing that well too (music ruined me haha) and not a native speaker but, from what I understood, Navarro was a member of anti fascist underground groups and knew Dali's side many people didnt know, cause in mainstream he was known as a great painter. During Franco presidency he was supporting his inhumane actions and Navarro perfectly knew it and this interview just gave it a proof. After Spain became more democratic and denounced fascist ideologues, Dali left country in hurry cause he was afraid that people in underground who just raised to power would lynch him. Navarro said basically all things said in this video, you can just trust him alot more cause he was in this political situation and knew almost all fascists in the industry

[@andretyroneii941]

Second part is alot more hard to transcribe, but I tried my best. It's very interesting. Short version is, after Spain regained democracy, it was half democratic, some forces and political leaders that was active during Franco, stayed in place as there was never a public execution and outlawing. As Dali was financially helping them before, they returned a favor by burying his fascist legacy through their connections. Like, telling current politicians not to ban him from galleries and all those things. That what gave him needed break into mainstream and most probably only reason he wasn't "lynched". At the very end he say that there is no apolitical art, and ignoring fascism will make it worse. Also he said that there is alot of nazis still (he's right, sadly), and we still need to see it as a threat

[@vitus.verdegast]

Dali was saying that Hitler was a great character, meaning he projected an immediately identifiable image. He also said that about Harpo Marx, Mae West and Shirley Temple. He was talking about artifice and persona, not politics.

[@shiv421kobra]

I feel like Dali was saying Hitler was a ridiculous person in that he was worthy of ridicule. Dali loved ridicule, and it makes sense therefore that he would love a man who was so ridiculous he was inherently and naturally surreal by definition. Can you really blame a surrealist for loving real-life natural surrealism? That and Dali clearly shows traits of being a troll wayyyyyyyyyy ahead of his time, he trolled the trolls that were the surrealist group

[@KarinaHil]

i love your comment, I also believe one of an true Artist's job is to "document" and identify key-moments, personas, feelings, movements, etc. of their generation through their personal filter to provide the world an opening for introspection which he certainly did, and super smart of him to never talk about the meaning of his Artworks, even saying "they have none" - so we all could discuss their controversy even long after his life time.

[@danielpierce4430]

You have convinced me that my art history education was wholly inadequate.

[@harrr53]

Picasso lived in France. Lorca was killed. Dalí was basically avoiding running foul of the government in his country so that he did not have to live in exile or die, but instead live lavishly. This is not exactly commendable, but he was no different to millions of Spaniards who did exactly the same thing out of self preservation. Additionally he revelled in irony and parody. The quotes about him hating freedom and saying the fascists were so intelligent was steeped in sarcasm. Basically, Dalí was over and above all, self serving, and would have probably sided with the communists if they had been the ones left standing after the civil war. I recommend watching films by Spanish director Luis García Berlanga for another example of an artist who managed to stay in Spain during the dictatorship while making subtle parodies of the regime, and caricaturising it.

[@felix4645]

This turned out to be one of the best videos on fascism and it’s history I’ve seen, after doing a lot of research. Very interesting topic and absolutely right to use Ecco’s definition. It is often important to separate art from the artist. In both art and music.

[@yetanotherrandomyoutubecha4382]

I've never been the biggest fan of Eco's 14 characteristics, because they are more a work of semiotics than a definition. Basically, he is describing what fascism usually *looks like*, but not necessarily what it *is* at its core. So fascism continues to be a bit of an elusive concept with that framework

[@felix4645]

@@yetanotherrandomyoutubecha4382 I think the vagueness is actually part of the ideology. It’s not a defined thing as socialism is, for example.

[@yetanotherrandomyoutubecha4382]

@@felix4645 Maybe. It is explicitly anti-intellectual, after all

[@daddykarlmarx6183]

@@yetanotherrandomyoutubecha4382 I think the vagueness makes sure that there's basically no fascists that don't fit some of those points, while not being as vague as just calling them totalitarian

[@thepants1450]

How do you separate art from the artist when their own direct ideology is covering the canvas? Wtf lmao

[@trinex3332]

You did NOT have to make a 30 min video. There is one interview. Is one interview when he said he is. That is it. Simple.

[@magpie405]

i have to say your pronunciation of "Miró", "Lorca" and "arriba" with a french r is pretty funny as a catalan and spanish speaker. not that it detracts from how good this video is at all!

[@NullStaticVoid]

I remember years ago when Dali was in poor health and would soon die, me and some friends went to the fancy part of town to go see some Dali prints at a gallery. We were all very excited because we were going to cut class from high school. On the way there one of our older friends told us the whole story of how Dali was a fascist who loved Franco. At that time I really had no idea who Franco was or anything about the Spanish Civil war. And only vaguely knew nazis were bad, and if you were a socialist or communist you had extra reason not to like either. So we kind of brushed it off and went anyway. Honestly we spent more time at the gallery with plasma globes than looking at Dali prints. Plasma globes had just come out that year. PS you need to turn autofocus off.

[@camespejo]

this was such an interesting theme and video, so full of information that really left me open mouthed. thank you for the work u put into your research, i'll look forward to your content :)

[@Cheryl407]

I think members of my family were in the Lincoln Brigade because they are buried in a special place for Spanish Freedom Fighters in the cemetery where they are buried. This was a very fine video. I studied so much art history and I am shocked I never knew this about Dali. As to Fascism here, oh yes, it’s here and always has been. Thank you.

[@salsa_przezzter]

You certainly made me rethink my sympathy for Dali, and you gave me a topic to think about for upcoming days, which is "separating artist from art, in case of political art". Thank you so much for this video, it's very much appreciated

[@TheHortoman]

Who the fuck had sympathy for dali? I guess he never fooled us spanish

[@milosevicmihajlo499]

Dont worry, you should not lose simpaty for the Dali beacuse of this little new age comunist who tries to put dali to trial again

[@TheHortoman]

@@milosevicmihajlo499 lol rip dali was shallow and boring nevermind him working for the governmement that ruined my country

[@milosevicmihajlo499]

@@TheHortoman goverment that saved your country, trust me you guys would suffer under leftist scum

[@jackroberts2704]

@@milosevicmihajlo499 Sounds like that's just your opinion

[@shivangshukla6253]

Even artists as radical as Dali aren't immune to the bad seeded yet seductive ideologies. This was really enlightening.

[@brianmiller5444]

such as Breton’s evident love of communism? I kept waiting for that side of the story to come out…And this blindness remains on the left today as well as the right???

[@fgsz291]

@@brianmiller5444 This is a video about Dali and facism, why would he talk about Breton and communism?

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

Picasso was based AF

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

Most radical artist follow radical ideologies tho? Like just see the vanguards, surealist were mainly communist, futurist facists, etc.

[@Melaka_Pill]

@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan "based" means being right-wing, don't steal our culture, soylennial

[@woodengirl127]

I loved one of the final statements that Navaro made along the lines of apolitical art being inherently political. Like the popular quote used by white supremacist group Proud Boys, "Stand back and Stand by". Although Dali wasn't too keen on hiding his fascist ideology- Using your privilege to ignore discrimination and violence towards minorities on the basis of being "apolitical", is what gives fascism a platform to continue spewing bigotry. Beautiful video essay!! Thank you for providing education on art, film, and literature!

[@Firefly-dy5zc]

The Proud Boys are most definitely NOT "white supremacists". If you stopped listening to the constant barrage of propaganda coming out of mainstream media you would know this. But then you would have to become brave enough to actually think for yourself, rather than mindlessly parrot the lies you're being fed. Are you up for it? Because once you look behind the curtain, you can't go back.

[@derekcarney]

IF your awful misunderstandings cause the destruction of any of his works, you should truly be ashamed of yourself. Horrible essay. Find an actual cause to promote, because trying to smear people who are dead is really LAME. Shame on all of you.

[@nbeutler1134]

@@derekcarney i think you're a troll but in case you're not-- what cause are we promoting? it's not smearing, because everything the video points out are simply known facts about Dali's fascistic beliefs/tendencies, smearing means FALSELY accusing someone of something. If you've been reading since Star Wars came out, I'm surprised you didn't know that already

[@Yankee_Doodle_Dandy]

This was very one sided and took all that Dali did at face value. Feels like a freshman’s research paper, scratch the surface and come to a conclusion.

[@davidsemaan7970]

I think Dalai wanted to give facism a fair trial and not be motivated by political hate, the same hate that the fascist believe would be hypocritical

[@VultRoos]

Hello. English is not my native language, so I have some trouble with accents. Would it be possible at all to create subtitles for when Mr. Navarro began speaking?

[@ilshyf]

So, he basically was 20th century Kanye West.

[@brukernavn3409]

Or Varg Vikernes.

[@julialk8483]

Ironically Lenin was a fascist himself and started a fascist regimen... Also thank you, loving your content. I didn't know the true depth of Dali's fall. Mr. Navarro's contribution is priceless. I see fascism happening in human history over and over and over and over... Greetings from Russia, the miserable home to fascism nowadays. 😞

[@ThePolistiren]

9:44 > ☭Land Redistribution☭ > "these ideas sound moderate to us" Are you from Cuba?

[@MM-vs2et]

Are you from North Korea?

[@adamcadle7078]

Now I understand why Dali’s Last Supper is next to toilets in the Smithsonian

[@parkerstroh6586]

To me, this adds depth to Dali’s philosophy and paintings - like what sadness brings to the image of a clown

[@derekcarney]

Huh?

[@parkerstroh6586]

@@derekcarney never heard of a clown?

[@derekcarney]

@@parkerstroh6586 There was one in The Terrifyer that scared me more than Trump and Biden and Hitler combined. I don't get the sad part and what it has to do with clowns. Also, I know about Fancy Clowns kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3a8dHafjbGDitk

[@parkerstroh6586]

@@derekcarney a clown is just the mask, there’s a person behind there and they aren’t as whimsical as their image presents also fuck yes fancy clown

[@kittara8]

I must say, I absolutelly love how you make connections with references to other videos, so I can endlessly jump between them

[@niranjansrinivasan4042]

Dali seems to be inspired by "Ubermensch" ideology and he was, atleast by my standards a narcissist and its convincing to believe he was attracted towards narcissistic ideologies like fascism, nazism etc.

[@Max_Kraft]

At 09:32 - This is the most simplistic summary of the Spanish Civil War I have ever heard. The Soviet help wasn't little. The 600 T-26-tanks were modern weapons ensuring the material supremacy of the Republic for a very long time during the war. But its true that the Republic was very stupid to trust Stalin and the NKVD with the spanish Gold reserve which was never seen again. Also there were the International Brigades which were significant larger than the irish, romanian or other volunteers on the nationalist side.

[@rojorosa]

If we're looking at things on a relative basis (which he probably is) the aid sent by the USSR was lesser than that of both the Fascist nations so he's technically not wrong if we'relooking at if that way. Also I'm pretty sure the number of T-26s was closer to 250 to 300 plus 50 BT-5s.

[@ferkitchen4111]

It doesn't matter how simplistic they make their summaries, it doesn't change the truth that every spaniard knows: They lost and they became the eternal losers of the Spanish contemporary history. They can keep crying all they want.

[@mostlycusimbored]

Eco's definition is terrible. He might as well be describing any authoritarian.

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

To this day I don't understand why so many people still cite him. Like under his "definition" even Cuba and the ussr would be considered fascists.

[@Samuel88853]

And stating that supporting even 1 element can make you a fascist is way too broad.

[@mostlycusimbored]

If you want a clearer picture of fascism focus on Italian fascism, conservative revolutionaries in Germany and integralism. I mean none of it is good stuff to believe but it's worth understanding the layout of modern and contemporary hard right belief

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

@@mostlycusimbored I just read what they define themselved over. The best definition of facism (which comes from doctrine of facism) is that "everything they do should be for the good of the nation (nation the population, not necesairly the state) no matter the cost (and often at the expense of those outside it)" it definitebely is a better definition than the eco one.

[@eavids128]

You absolutely convinced me, and thank you for including the Navarro interview.

[@Kokubetsu]

Fascist Italy had very different policies from Nazism proper. They didn't have similar art views to Hitler, in fact Futurists & Futurist art was associated with the regime. Futurism is obviously a form of abstract modern art. In fact, Futurist art ended up at Nazi degenerate art exhibits. Fascist Italian architecture was also pretty modernist. Franco wasn't actually a Falangist he was if anything a Carlist or a generic Reactionary Catholic Traditionalist-he just paid lip service to the Falangists who were actually a small percentage of the nationalist faction. Falangism had revolutionary and modernist aspects, and most importantly a National-Syndicalist economic ideology, a form of "Yellow Socialism" which is basically the same as Corporatism espoused by Italian Fascism (Corporatism in Italian does not translate well into english). For the record, the Nazis didn't really have this economic ideology as a cornerstone and were more capitalist+mixed economy in practice. I should also add that Franco, the Falange, and Italian Fascism weren't really anywhere near as racist and anti-semitic as the Nazis. In most cases they were just as racist as everyone else at the time. I'm kinda skeptical if those racist statements are proven, they feel a bit off, but my understanding is as a Catholic, he like many other Spaniards allied with the Nationalists because of how brutal the Republicans were towards the Catholic church. They raped and murdered nuns and proudly displayed this as propaganda, which alienated even otherwise moderate and apolitical Spaniards into siding with the Nationalists. That conflict was a bit grey and the Republic was pretty corrupt.

[@swidge494]

Brittany Broski sent me here on a research assignment

[@a123akh]

sameeee 🫡

[@ThatTurtleGirl]

Same, I’m here to do my duty for the Broski nation 🫡

[@SourSourSour]

Was not expecting this topic, especially at this length! Just starting the vid and looking forward to it

[@Shawn.Grenier]

I hope you enjoy! I felt that the accusation was a pretty big one, so it needed a lot of arguments to support it. I hope you liked it! Thanks again for commenting and giving consistent feedback!

[@ozzyd971]

The canvas posts, I click! Keep up the great work 😃

[@Shawn.Grenier]

Oscar comments, I answer! Thank you so much!!

[@veryimportantperson3657]

Guernica was an anti-war statement. It's very obviously a depiction of the horrors of war. One could very indirectly make the connection between opposing war and wanting to fight against the Nazis and fascism generally, but that painting was NOT the call to arms you describe it as. You pretty much got that characterization 180 degrees wrong.

[@valerietaylor9615]

There have been many different varieties of Fascism, but the one characteristic they’ve all shared, is extreme nationalism.

[@NelsonStJames]

Heaven forbid an artist holds an opinion that goes against the grain. One needs to remember, no artist, no writer, no filmmaker, no actor forces you to engage with what they do, and if they become popular, or if you liked what they did if was because they did that thing well. To go back and try to say these creations are tainted because the creator held a particular ideology is ludicrous. It may be interesting, and it may add some deeper understanding of the work in question, but appreciating someone's skill does not indoctrinate me into believing , or even agreeing with their ideology. This is especially true when we're talking about figures that are long past in eras in which many of us weren't even born.

[@frankegordon326]

Holds an opinion that goes against the grain is a very light way to put advocated for genocide. Y'know how if you walked into someone's house and it was completely plastered in USSR propaganda posters your first thought wouldnt be "huh they must really like the art style,"? Art has meaning and it's our job to critically access the media we consume

[@NelsonStJames]

@@frankegordon326 Dali died in 1989. Whatever he did or did not advocate went to the grave with him. We are left with his art. Lovecraft died in 1937, and so did his xenophobia and his racism; his work remains. We could go on, because every day someone decides that some figure from the past was a horrible person and everything they did should be erased. If we dig into any artist odds are we're going to find an instance of them holding a belief that we don't agree with. That's practically a certainty now when people voraciously seek out the private life of any public figure. If we're dealing with living artists (unlike Dali) then ideology may mean something if the people are actively doing something to hurt others. (Actively being the key word). I choose the ideology of "death of the creator", because if I didn't, I would literally become art ignorant, from of all the art I would be denying myself of experiencing, or not appreciating fully for all the biases I would be bringing to it.

[@franraymol8853]

Breton, a stalinist in the 30's, saying "Dalí is a bad person because he is a fascist"

[@herlandercarvalho]

Nice try, but you are only telling the half truth... Breton, who was part of the French Communist Party, left the party specifically due to Stalin instigating the Moscow trials against Trotskyists, who lo and behold... opposed Stalin! Later on, when Breton met Trotsky, they co-authored a Manifesto denouncing the Communist International. I hope that clarifies your factually wrong statement... EDIT: If you want to compare Dalí vs Breton actions, the difference is that Breton denounced Stalin as he should have, while Dalí never disavowed either Hitler or Franco.

[@m.s.9744]

Communists fighting Facists 🤔. Dali's painting of indifference is correct. Neither one is for freedom. And isn't brilliant how Facism can't really be defined? It's a catch all slur that can be used against one's political enemy without absolutely any proof.

[@daregularperson]

I was convinced, and an interesting journey at that. At first I began to think that Dali is truly an eccentric, and his obsession with Hitler was like a mystical celebrity crush, and not morally oriented. Then for the Spanish Civil War I thought his neutrality was interesting, but then I was reminded of this “evolutionary history” aspect of fascism, and then the final parts were nails in the coffin haha

[@tomgeorgearts]

Great video. I would like to see a defence of Dali now, although I doubt that is possible! Btw excellent interview near the end, but I would have liked subtitles. I am pretty good at understanding different accents, but I had to go back and listen very carefully. When he says 'apolitical' it sounds like 'a political' - very different meaning!

[@owenswabi]

2:29 I disagree with the first two points as hitler and Mussolini would both be considered Modernists, rejecting any idea of restoring the monarchy, which is this context would be tradition. The only one that really fits that bill would be Franco. This is what Evola meant by referring to himself as a “super fascist”

[@Ozhull]

He already addressed the difficulty in defining fascism, but I'm glad you were able to demonstrate how much smarter you are than the rest of us morons

[@owenswabi]

@@Ozhull stay mad

[@AABB-zb6dv]

Most of the artists around that time were radical far-leftists or communists. Dali wasn't, he was more of a traditionalist and right winger. But he was also a natural born eccentric contrarian and loved attention (d'oh). Which is why he flirted with fascism and Hitler, to get reaction and trigger people. We are talking about man that during his student days would throw himself down the stairs just so people would look at him.

[@ViniSocramSaint]

He literally got infatuated with hitler, argumented in favor of fascism, deliberately chose to not take part on anything that involved fighting against fascists, used double speak to "slip away" when questioned, made many paintings with the message in favor of fascism, contrary to his usual MO of only 1 painting per idea, etc. He walked around with 1 ant-eater, made 1 painting agaisnt fascist occupation, threw himself down a set of stairs 1 time and became christian for the span of 1 painting. He venerated anything fascist many more than just 1 time. Besides, could you explain what you mean as the "radicalness" and "farness" of the leftists? Apparently doing anyhing one can to ensure democracy (freedom) and curb the rise of fascism is EXTREME for you. Dali even got to do all this act for years, got many chances to explain himself and got investigated before even going to court instead of being prosecuted and executed immediately, which is fascist MO... where is the extremism exactly?

[@AABB-zb6dv]

@@ViniSocramSaint Speaking of 'double speak', the type of left I'm talking about, is always talking about ensuring democracy, only to say in next sentence that their ultimate goal is creation of dictatorship of the proleteriat (Soviet style system) and abolishment of free markets. There's nothing democratic about that, it's actually quite fascistic. When you dealing with such dishonest people, I can see why you would like to provoke them.

[@harlhequim]

What I love the most is Dali sits in judgment in 1934 from a group openly declared admirers of a system who, up to that point had butchered millions inside The Soviet Union

[@evilassjitnem]

@@ViniSocramSaint nerd

[@ViniSocramSaint]

@@evilassjitnem * glasses tweak *

[@halguy5745]

he was equivalent of a modern 4chan troll, a person nihilistic/uneducated/privileged enough to not care whether fascism comes into power or not

[@MagixVegasUser]

"...a person nihilistic/uneducated/privileged enough to not care whether fascism comes into power or not" Such a limp-wristed and spineless outlook on the world

[@halguy5745]

@@MagixVegasUser how so?

[@mynameis9389]

Couldn’t of had been a nihilist if he cared to stay in a pedestal of privilege guarding from the brunt of fascism Russian nihilists and modern nihilistis are usually anti fascists

[@splabbity]

It's tough when you admire someone and want to respect them, but can't.

[@naly202]

When i heard Dali say that Hitler was a great / sublime character, I instantly thought of Olivander telling Harry Potter that he was destined for great things, the same as Voldemort "did great things in his time, terrible, but great. " (there's admiration in his voice) I don't know if JK was aware of Dali's words, but the similarity is striking.

[@Spearca]

Dali and Rowling are using the traditional meaning of the word, in which it connotes things like largeness, importance, and power, but not goodness.

[@campacolasworkshop6042]

I find Dalis work the exact opposite of contemporary fascist works... At the end of the day he left us with great works of art and three great places to visit.

[@TheFreeAdviceMan]

Dali was a very disturbed person... All his life! Upon learning that his friend Federico Garcia Lorca was murdered by the monstrous fascists ( 1936 ) during the Spanish Civil War, he exclaimed ... with insane 'joy' ... "Ole!" Meaning ( I am Catalan Spanish/French ) the equivalent of "Wonderful!" or "Excellent!". Nothing about Dali's sadistic outbursts and acts of cruelty ... towards practically anyone and everyone...including such sweet fellow mammals as cats ... and I am and have always been a lover of cats ... in the proper sense of the expression ... none of all those irrational, illogical and senseless ... psychopathological ... exhibited countless incidents throughout his life provides any reason to think Dali was a mentally healthy and mindfully conscious person with sufficient compassion and empathy for anyone at all! That he seems to have glorified his wife Gala means little to nothing; given that she probably was part of the reason that he became less sadistic and slightly considerate in the Autumn of his life: when he became more and more dependent on the mercies and kindness of others. Dali was definitely not a true fascist at all. If anything, Dali exhibited a set of deepest contradictions, and the inner child hiding all along inside him...the one who had suffered one of the most terrifying of traumas by his own parents' absolute primitiveness and selfishness in damaging Dali from the earliest moments, by repeatedly telling him that he was the reincarnation of a previous Salvador...who died at the infancy age of 22 months,,,,whose death preceded his birth by literally 9 months ... WHAT A TOTALLY HARMFUL THING THEY DID TO THE POOR CHILD.! .... Dali was a sequential traumas victim and similar to those who suffer Stockholm syndrome, admired and envied the most grotesquely evil, ruthless persons....fascist leaders.... not because he really meant any of it, but exactly on account of the coping mechanism that he became addicted to...for lack of ever being properly helped by anyone at all. If Picasso or Breton had understood that Dali had such a most traumatising formative period and had never been properly helped by truly considerate super-conscious persons; they might have done what Freud, who was too old and resigned, could have done. Dali would have needed reality therapy.....by. being placed in the home of a family of people suffering from klepto-plutocratic fascism ....preferably a Catalan family! Dali was not a fascist. He was insane and sensed it acutely, but quickly invented a way to hide his insanity. And yet his invaluable insight into his disturbed mind are truly fascinating images that raise a most profound question....perhaps an unanswerable one at that: is the most interesting and shocking art ever the product of a truly balanced person, or is all of the greatest works of art the result of traumas....perceived, real or both? In other words: was Dali truly one of the most revolutionary of artists...or was his extreme surrealism basically the same thing as when a war-traumatised child, removed from relative danger, is given crayons or whatever and encouraged to draw whatever that child wants to? Was it just that Dali was technically advanced in artistic techniques and could express his mind's chaos, his conscious and sub-conscious fears and his hatreds, angst, anxieties and contempt for a World that truly tends to fail to care properly for one-another? Fascism is anti-humanity, anti-spiritual, anti-scientific, dangerously irrational and evil. Fascism is anything that is not real democracy, and that is designed to eradicate democracy, human rights, the inalienable right, freedoms and liberties that all individual persons are universally eternally entitled to, but which are too often denied by the various types of fascists and their dangerously brainwashed, idiotic supporters....from feudal monarchists to theocratic fascists, ultra-nationalists to pseudo-nationalist idiocratic fascist plutocrats....oligarchs and their chosen dictator. Was Dali a Fascist? NO! Was he an anti-fascist? Sadly; he was deep inside....held hostage by his chaotic state of mind! Dali did not lie at all when he stated that he was both a Monarchist and a Monarch of Anarchism...of his own Realm and Mind. Dali's art is profoundly important; as evidence of just how messed up our World was and still is. Only through conscious anti-fascism and total respect and concern for the rights of all non-fascist persons...as well as the rights of the fascist to be placed in a safe place where they can do no harm to others....until their inner child finally is able to break out of their dangerously convoluted mindset and warped world-view. Dali's innermost child did manage to .... unconsciously ... thwart fascism after all, by exposing their dementedness. Picasso was a chauvinist and totalitarianist....and his anti-fascism was thus undermined by his own lack of true enlightenment. Stalin was a fascist, and Stalin's pact with Hitler...through Molotov....was half of what allowed Hitler and Mussolini to be able to launch World War Two. The other half was what fascist Horthy did in providing access through Hungary to Romania and Bulgaria; the mineral and metal and fossil fuel resources needed for the fascists to build their huge array of war machines. And Franco was the fascist who destroyed what could have been a key democracy able to prevent World War Two. Dali was too disturbed to truly understand any of it. The Catalan people suffered horrors and Dali was as blind as a rabid bat flying into the flames of Historically senseless horrors....

[@campacolasworkshop6042]

@@TheFreeAdviceMan Thank you for your reply, very well thought out & informative.

[@shamusson]

@@TheFreeAdviceMan Also how tf is fascism anti-spiritual lmfao, bro we here dealing with capitalism, scientific humanism, marxism, materialistic liberalism, managerial consumerism, anti-spiritual my ass

[@derekcarney]

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING SENSIBLY.

[@magnoliarosamagenta]

Dali is a great example of why "If 9 people are at a table, a fascist sits in it and none of them get up... You have 10 fascists sitting at a table."

[@zab416]

Thanks for an interesting video. If you happen to see this and can possibly caption Prof. Navarro's bits, that'd be helpful to people who have trouble hearing or figuring out what someone with an accent is saying-- I'm for captions/translations everywhere possible, but statements like especially. The stuff Dali said is disturbing but also read to me very much like a pre-Internet troll. Dali and a modern Internet troll can both use their personas to be whimsical or whatever about their politics, it's just a certain shock value style. I noticed other commenters making the same kind of observation. I find it amusing (but sad) that Breton said he made sure there was no humor at one point when trying to get out Dali's true feelings. This is basically something any professional or hobbyist comedian has said to a comedy friend at some point-- "So wait, this isn't a bit?" Because a lot of outlandish things people say in that community are jokes to get a laugh or reaction, but sometimes the outlandish thing is true. Usually something more mundane than whether you really like Hitler or not. I feel kinda bad for Breton, I think he was trying to do the right thing for years, but going up against a big personality can be frustrating. Someone who knows history better may know if he came across as censorious or witch-hunter-esque at the time or to people later looking back.

[@wendyannh]

This is so disturbing to learn about, all the more because not only did my parents purchase a marvelous Dalí lithograph around 1968 that has always been one of my most prized possessions, but we are Jewish. I can’t imagine how they didn’t know about his fascist sympathies. Or maybe they did, but ignored it in favor of the fact that he is unquestionably one of the best and most important artists of our times, and his work is so fascinating. I just don’t know if I will ever be able to look at my beautiful piece again, at least not with the same admiration.

[@shovelhead56]

Once again, am grateful to you for your insightful narrative! Always leave your channel more aware and informed. Thank You🤙

[@007bistromath]

Taking his words at face value, you don't really need to make a "case" that he's fascist; it's right there in maintext. However, after watching the whole video, I find another interpretation more likely. Dali's idea of Hitler as somebody who lost a war on purpose to get off seems extremely revelatory, as does the image of his nurse wearing a Nazi armband, alluding to the idea spoken of by many anarchists that traditional parenting is a brutal and traumatic form of proto-fascism. It's no secret that Dali was obsessed with shame, sexual and otherwise. After watching this video, I think that he wasn't a fascist so much as he was just completely out of his mind, and devoted to an explosively unhealthy degree to living his life as a work of art. Fascists, even at the height of their power, wear more of a mask than this man did. The things he said "in support" of fascism are so mask-off and incendiary that they seem more intended to make people regard him with fear and disgust. I think his inner turmoil led him to regard the war as a movement of natural history, and later to join the fascists, because he saw in that movement a collectively-subconscious expression of the fear and shame that he consciously cultivated as part of his warped, self-flagellating life-as-work. Living through a period where, no matter who won the world war, the oligarchical collectivists would (and did) clearly win history is everything surrealism is about; Dali seemed to consider world events to be a great stage play, and decided to adopt a role as a villain to get off, just like he imagined Hitler did. Overall, calling Dali a fascist seems about as sensible as calling Terry Davis, the creator of TempleOS, a racist. He struggled so deeply with inner demons and eccentric, impaired communication that ascribing any political or moral values to the way he expressed himself is absurd.

[@mattbutchercreativity4213]

Why do people expect artists to be lefties? Art is very individualistic so casting oneself as 'left' or 'right' depending on your tastes in brainless collectivism is just daft. I think he was taking the piss.

[@JohnDoe-mp1yn]

fascism is brainless collectivism. it operates on it.

[@shamusson]

Yah Dali is the ultimate troll

[@eddiebeato5546]

This is, indeed, a scholarly analysis of Dali’s complex political stance, and the young narrator is excellent!!!

[@derekcarney]

I think you meant pretentious smear campaign. Gross.

[@eddiebeato5546]

@@derekcarney Salvador Dali is one of my all-time favorite artists.

[@derekcarney]

@@eddiebeato5546 Then I'd hate to see what you do your enemies! LOL. Just kidding. No, it is good to be open to awful truths. Although, after what happened to some confederate statues and Washington and Jefferson etc. statues and such...I think the movement with this type of ideology today is absolutely DANGEROUS to important artworks and such.

[@eddiebeato5546]

@@derekcarney I think you are absolutely right, and I should reprimand myself for advancing the agenda of those who hate the Christ of St. John of the Cross by Salvador Dali. The world today is going through tremendous tensions, politically, religiously, culturally and economically, and I think the end of of this era is just around the corner. Like the Bronze Age, our civilization is teetering and tottering into the awful cracks of history. I am sorry Salvador Dali did himself a disservice by not being constant to his personal convictions, his moral compass, but it is even more pathetic when he, seeking the attention of the social media, had to debase himself with self-mocking antics and clownishness unworthy of an artist so supremely gifted. For up today, no one alive can paint better hyper-realism than Dali: just look at his religious paintings. But he left behind a veritable plethora of junky stuffs (including forgeries, early 1980s) trashy paintings, Avant Garde, passing for arts in the depiction of dreams (surrealism) that he was apt to justify as the “baiting potion” for a nihilistic society going to the dogs, and committing suicide in masses (First and Second World Wars). Later on, Dali, a self-proclaimed genius, was keenly aware that as an artist, he was beyond reproach and praise, and so he knew that whatever he painted, as long as it had his signature, could pass for the “work of genius.” But inside, Señor Dali, inflated by his monarchical mentality, suspected a herd-mentality incapable of recognizing genuine works of arts, for to the very end, he admired Diego Velazquez, Vermeer and Raphael, as the supreme visual artists of all times. It is very likely that Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega Y Gasset (who authored the Revolt of the Masses, so prophetic of our times) and Dali knew each other well. They both feared the rule of the mass-man, our hyper-democratic society, which eventually, as evinced a few years ago, would tear down and raze to the ground the once-standing statutes of our indignation. The sad case of Salvador Dali reminds me of landscape artist Thomas Kinkade, whose unbridled ambitions for mundane glories and the blessings of Mammon ($$$), tragically culminated in their own undoings and well-reported wretchedness. Of course, Salvador Dali became immortalized in his masterpieces, but it seems that Fate had to purify him before departing from this world. Stricken with the Parkinson disease, and abandoned in the most desolate of solitary confinement in his castle, he attempted suicide, and was almost consummated by a conflagration in the last throes of his final days. He died of heart failure, and even to the last moment, he was exploited as a cash cow artist.

[@derekcarney]

@@eddiebeato5546 Ouch- I can't stand Kinkade. Wasn't he in a fire or didn't his room catch on fire around the time of his death? I have a great book about him somewhere that is mostly images of his work, including a number I had never seen elsewhere. I made an appt with the Prints & Drawings department at the Cleveland Museum of Art years ago to view some prints and drawings by Dali that they do not have publicly displayed for temperature control, humidity, and light. It was free to do and so cool. You sit at a table and hey bring out the works one at a time and set them on the table in front of you. You are inches away from them although you cannot touch them. It was incredible. He was hilarious, too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4m3Y3hveMiWbqM

[@christianbrown7959]

This was a long video, but an excelent one. Most illuminating.

[@HanHan-zx2ni]

In the beginning I thought this was just an unhinged KZbin essay, but this video essay actually changed my mind

[@UnnTHPS]

If Twitter existed back then dali would tweet something about being cancelled bcuz of the armband in his painting

[@shamusson]

Tbh he would only ever be on Twitter to troll people

[@harrietheywood]

Thank you for this video. I did a search on the topic because I had read about this recently. In St Petersburg, Florida, they are very proud of the Dali Museum. This casts a dark shadow over it.

[@MetrikOner]

St petersburg/clearwater/seminole has a substantial white supremacist/neo nazi population. Makes sense.

[@lucave15]

His work and legacy doesn't have nothing to do with his ideology

[@Tempfilms360]

@@lucave15 you should watch the video, there were clear examples of his ideology affecting his work.

[@b-r-a-i-n-r-o-t]

@@lucave15 do you have any reason for believing that other than emotional response or nah

[@yetanotherrandomyoutubecha4382]

A dark shadow maybe only eclipsed by the shadow of DeSantis

[@joshg9773]

this might be the best channel I've ever stumbled upon

[@dnavid]

Gernika, no U in the pronunciation. Thanks for the detail. Have you seen Little Ashes?

[@mirabellehenry8293]

hi, do you have a transcript of your interview with Vicente Navarro? I would like to use it for a project. thanks

[@JuliettaRabens]

What I see in Dali's painting "The Enigma of Hitler" is an image/photo of Hitler not an actual man on a plate surrounded by meager beans. It implies to me Hitler is the center of a great hunger, want, deprivation. The large phone hanging over the plate has a broken mouth piece, so there is no way to speak into it, but the speaker/listening end is oozing with either tears or salivation. Once again it isn't an actual person, but a distanced phone, an inert piece of plastic conveying absolute dominance. This implies extreme domination of communication and thought even though abstracted, distanced. I think it means that the idea of Hitler creates great hunger and domination and its presentation completely unreal. I think it helps to let go of assuming all social motivation in Dali, even though 99.99% of humans communication, thoughts, and motivations are almost completely social. It's a big leap to traverse, but necessary for a clear sense of Dali. Think of neuroatypical processing like autism that can be separated from social reasoning. The neuroatypical forms of reasoning in the highly intelligence are not studied and categories are not available, but the actual processes can be far enough outside the norm so to analyze these within normative processing can take one down a completely different path and conclusion.

[@pickle2636]

u mean neurodivergent?

[@TVDandTrueBlood]

Do you have any sources where I could read more about "neuroatypical processing like autism that can be separated from social reasoning" as you put it? I've never heard it before and would like to know more, if possible!

[@oobediah2668]

I think the message is dali is ‘hungry’ for hitler and wishes to be ‘dominated’ by him

[@359339]

It was eye-opening for me when I walked into an exhibition of Dali's work and realized how repetitive and uninspired his work can be. The image I was sold of Dali by general culture was that he was SO creative, but as I looked around, the pieces transformed into checklists before me: animal with long legs, ants, naked white ladies, gradient backgrounds... It felt corporate. Each piece was selling the Dali brand instead of evoking unique moods or concepts. I learned to dislike him that day, and then later my city put up a statue of his in a small park. The plaque said it was the essence of a woman, and of course it was headless, handless, void of agency or vitality. The misogyny was in such excess, I was tempted to vandalize it. That day, I learned to hate him. Learning now from this video that Dali was a fascist, I feel so uncomfortable that I was raised with Dali being valorized, but I also feel vindicated that he really is an artist with such a deep disrespect for humanity that it shows in his work.

[@SlashCampable]

I'm at the stage where I feel like Rothko has more range than Dali.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

Dalí's art was initially groundbreaking, but after a while it became a repetitive imitation of itself. He kept working and producing long after inspiration had left him, and it could be argued that nearly everything he painted from the 60s on is basically worthless.

[@petchinv2870]

@@SlashCampable of course, Rothko has crazy range as long as you don’t just view his work as “squares in different colors”

[@derekcarney]

Did you say DALI's work is UNINSPIRED?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?! I never realized how many terrible morons there are in the world until I started reading these comments. You people are terrible. As for the sculpture- he LOVED his wife. The headless likely represents how he saw SOCIETY subconsiously feels about women, not him personally! Handless- how SOCIETY subconsciously felt women were skill-less. The crazy thing about ART is that it can be interpreted in infinite ways and can have different meanings from various time,cultural, social, political, personal, religious, and gender lenses. No ONE interpretation is CORRECT. Just because YOU think it means what you think it means doesn't make it so.

[@derekcarney]

And the thing that scares me the most is that you all are convincing yourselves the ART is now equal to horrible concepts that they do not posess. And my biggest fear is that you idiots will cause the same thing to happen to these important masterpieces as happened to statues recently in the u.s. and the ruined and destroyed ancient artifacts of egypt and afghanistan for example that were destroyed by idiots who saw them as unworthy of existing due to political and religious differences. YOU PEOPLE WILL CAUSE THE LOSS OF AMAZING ARTWORKS by going down this path you are going down. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU. You either create or destroy. Causing the destruction of artwork regardless of your judgements is FUCKING EVIL. Period. You are the real fascists. Sick,

[@pusillirex]

Dali just seems like someone who chose to side with the powerful... It shouldn't be overlooked that Dali was an anarchist and supported Trotsky's red army in his youth He may have had disdain for the weak and admired the strong who he perhaps found sublime, which it seems to Eco to be a facet of facism The admiration for Hitler is comprehensible, and not uncommon for someone from the 20th century. Overall nothing really surprising, I just never thought about Dali's political ideas ...although dreaming of Hitler as a woman and obsessing over his skin IS surprising...

[@rojorosa]

@Okay Ah yes because being a follower of an inherently contradictory ideology makes heaping piles of sense.

[@rojorosa]

@Okay You do know what intersectionality is right?

[@djenniomaricon]

@@rojorosa overused ideology for college undergrads

[@rojorosa]

@Anonymous D?NGO I don't why your saying that to me and not @okay but pop I guess.

[@Jeremy-hx7zj]

so dali was an insufferable edgelord. man, I've always kinda reified figures like him, who were so iconoclastic and "free" but as I grew older I learn that all of them have empathy deficiencies. I guess I'm a sellout because, to me, empathy will always matter more than pushing the envelope.

[@alexwitek1025]

Your videos make me really happy. I always get a really excited feeling by your approach and style

[@aestroai8012]

Thanks so much for making it clear what Dali was about. I've studied his paintings throughout my painting career, and found minor stories of how he didn't get on with Picasso and the likes. Now I clearly see why. He was playing with fire, and his provocative stance crossed a dangerous line at some point. I always just thought he was perhaps the first troll using surrealism as a means of usurping fascism. I'm convinced he deluded himself into thinking he could avoid the gas chambers whilst steeped in his perverted surrealist fantasies (I still admit I love).