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WALLACE: Before we were on the air, you said to me, "Ask embarrassing questions." Why? DALI: Because incidentally, make one movie in France, only it is movie of myself dance Charleston and my friends look this piece of movie at all, Dali in this part is much better than Charlie Chaplin. For me is very interesting because you see in Dali is one marvelous painter, in living time is one marvellous clown — much more interesting for everybody.  WALLACE: You want to be a marvellous clown as well as a marvellous painter? DALI: If it is possible, live two together is very good, you know. Charlie Chaplin is one genial clown but never painted like Dali, Charlie Chaplin's living times paint masterpieces. WALLACE: Is there any major theme, any powerful idea, which inspires all your work? DALI: Of course, the cosmogony of Dali. WALLACE: What is the cosmogony of Dali? DALI: This is in advance of a new nuclear physics, because every of my paintings, everybody laugh in the moment of look for the first time, but almost after 12 years every scientific people recognise the area of this painting is one real prophecy. In the moment of painting my soft watches, the more rigid object for everybody, and myself paint these watches in the soft Camembert — everybody laugh. The last development of nuclear physics proved to a new conception of space-time is completely flexible. Now it is in microphysics the time brought in reverse, and this proved that this object of completely surrealistic approach of soft watches for what is completely true and scientific. WALLACE: Which contemporary painters, if any, do you admire? DALI: First Dali. After Dali, Picasso, After this, no others. WALLACE: In your autobiography, you wrote this: "I adore three things — weakness, old age and luxury". Why? DALI: Because luxury is one product of monarchy, and myself every day becoming more monarchy — not in a political way because never is Dali interested in political — but in the philosophical and cosmological way. Because in the modern sense, the new discoveries of chromosomes and physics and biology, everything through the monarchy is the most luxurious things in life. WALLACE: And why do you adore old age? DALI: Because the little young peoples completely stupid, you know. They all only believe geniuses are old people [like] Leonardo de Vinci. WALLACE: And weakness, why do you adore weakness?  DALI: Because in the modern physics everything is weak, every proton and neutron is surrounded of weakness, of nothing. In this moment the most fantastic thing in physics is the anti-matter. Every new physician talk about anti-matter, and Dali paint, 20 years ago, the first anti-matter angels.WALLACE: You write in your biography that death is beautiful. What's beautiful about death? DALI: This is one feeling everything is erotic in my opinion. WALLACE: Erotic? DALI: ...is ugly, in the middle of everything ugly, so arrive the feeling of death, everything becomes noble and sublime. WALLACE: What do you think will happen to you when you die? DALI: Myself not believe in my death. WALLACE: You will not die? DALI: No, no believe in general in death, but in the death of Dali, absolutely not. Believe in my death becoming very — almost impossible. WALLACE: You fear death? DALI: Yes. WALLACE: Death is beautiful but you fear death? DALI: Exactly, because Dali is contradictory and paradoxical man. WALLACE: But why this fear of death? DALI: Because there is no sufficient [confidence] of my faith in religion. WALLACE: You're not sufficiently convinced of your faith. DALI: Exactly.  WALLACE: Well now I spoke with you about a year ago and we talked about religion, and you said that, as the years go by, you embrace Roman Catholicism more and more with your mind but not yet completely with your heart. Why not?DALI: Because, perhaps it is my early intellectual training and information. But now every day is more approach of this real feeling of religion. Just one month ago — is one tremendous operation of appendix, a broken appendix. After this operation becoming three times more religious than before. WALLACE: Do you go to church a good deal? Do you pray? DALI: Every day more, but is no sufficient. WALLACE: Have you ever had a supernatural vision? DALI: Visionary things, but no supernatural. WALLACE: An article about you in Life magazine once said that you're afraid of almost everything, from ocean liners to grasshoppers. The article said you won't buy shoes because you don't like to take off your shoes in public. And that when you go out you carry a little piece of Spanish driftwood which you keep to ward off evil spells. DALI: Yes, because remain very very superstitious. But I'm sure is is common of every Spanish people, you know. Spanish people is very superstitious. WALLACE: What do you enjoy doing most? DALI: My manner of expend my time is the more joy, the more delightful is becoming every day a little more Dali. WALLACE: You said that you can remember not only things that happened to you in your infancy, but even your feelings before you were born. What were they? DALI: Well I remember very clearly many mansions, not only in black and white but in glorious Technicolor. WALLACE: What specifically? DALI: At some phosphorous and x-luminous. I told these visions to Dr Freud in London. Freud tell me that it is absolutely true — is the region of intra-uterine memories. Probably my fetal position, my pupils is very hurt by my hands [from rubbing his eyes]. WALLACE: Well, what was it like? DALI: Ah, it was completely paradise. From this moment the more divine nature — in the moment of born is the moment of the paradise is lost. WALLACE: Well, under those circumstances I find it difficult to understand your fear of death. If the moment of being born was paradise lost, perhaps death, for you will be paradise regained. DALI: This is my hope. But is not absolutely sure. This is the trouble. You see, the death is again the regain of this paradise — this is excellent, but is not sure.  WALLACE: Do you, do you enjoy yourself as you live. Do you like yourself? DALI: I enjoy my life every day more, every week more. Because of Sir Dali — and my admiration for Dali is becoming tremendous. WALLACE: What kind of dreams do you have? DALI: Every time is very agreeable and creative. The last dreams is about the anti-matter angels. Perhaps for five months only dream about archangels, angels, kings and the most beautiful spectacular. WALLACE: You seem to be a mild-mannered man. Are you? Are you a pleasant man to deal with? Are you a friendly man? DALI: Everybody love Dali very much. But they pick on him. WALLACE: But your paintings — they're frequently violent. And you've written that in your private life you have had sudden impulses to injure people. As a child you kicked people — you threw a friend off a rocky ledge. DALI: Exactly. But this is my adolescence period. Now becoming much more quiet in these kind of sadistic things. As a contrary, after my religious feelings becoming more strong, these sadistic things of my adolescence disappeared almost completely. @  @ |
