Tag Archives: art

Melting clocks and mustaches have become representative of Surrealist artist, Salvador Dalí. What few know is that he was nearly a prodigy and has made a major impact on the art world through his Surrealist works. Map Acte 3 celebrated his 111^th birthday last week. Explore our curated collection of Dalí’s artwork online, as you discover more about the life of this creative mind. http://mapacte3.com/index.php/artistinfo?pid=37

Salvador Dalí was born in 1904 in Figueres, Spain to a lawyer and a hosue mother. Fortunately, his parents always supported him in his artistic abilities. They encouraged his creativity and intelligence, sending him to art school at a very young age. By the time he was 15, Dalí had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre of Figures.

In the academy, Salvador Dalí was exposed to different artistic styles – from Renaissance art, to Metaphysics and Cubism, to Dadaism. In addition to exercising various art genres, he also exercised his voice frequently. He was suspended, and later expelled from art school for his incessant and aggressive riots, claiming that the teachers were unqualified and inept, unable to teach him anything of value or worth.

1929 marked the beginning of Dalí’s first Surrealist period. Heavily influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud, Salvador Dalí created works of art based on his dreams. He used what he called the “paranoiac-critical method” in order to tap into his subconscious so that he could alter reality to make it look how he wanted it to.

In 1934, Dalí was expelled from the group of Surrealist artists. It is unclear as to what caused this – whether it occurred because of a clash of political opinions or if it was related to individual issues that Dalí had with these artists. Nevertheless, he continued to work in the Surrealist style, participating in exhibitions, until he began his classical period in the early 1940s.

The Dalí Theatre-Museum was created and curated by Salvador from 1960 to 1974. It houses some of his greatest works, in an incredible range of styles and from a broad range of stylistic periods. The building itself is a work of art, as each space was carefully selected in order to create a wholesome, artistic experience, each element contributing equally to the museum as a whole.

Dalí was plagued with suffering during the final years of his left. In 1980, he was overcome by a motor disorder that left him unable to paint. Then, in 1982, his wife died. To make things worse, he was terribly burned in a fire in 1984, leaving him wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. After suffering both emotionally and physically, Salvador Dalí passed away from heart failure in 1989 at the age of 84.

Spring is in the air and the Earth is blooming. Always the season where florals are in style, Spring has been re-infused with flower power. This timeless classic has been spun on its head with sweet and simple shrubs shrinking down under big, bold blossoms. An overwhelming appearance of over-sized orchids and delicate daffodils has established floral print as a major trend of the season.

The design world gained a green thumb this Spring, with flower prints springing up everywhere from interiors to runways. What is appealing about this trend is that the small garden of stylistic possibilities has expanded to become an endless field of flower prints. Planted alongside the delicate romance of the quintessential flower print come florals that meet minimalistic interests, and flowers bold and bright. The versatility has drawn all kinds of audiences into the trend.

While big and beautiful seems to be what has been catching the eyes of many, multiple trends have emerged, leading to the evolution of the traditional flower print. Simplicity is common among floral lovers, as it can be paired with anything and added to any space. On the other hand, striking colors combined with dynamic prints have a way of creating a bold statement, without the need for adding much more. As an accent, flowers create interest and grab attention, without an excessive shock factor. Flower prints can come with few or many flowers. Larger flowers create more of an impact, as they create more focus and can be seen as a statement piece. A print with a flower bunch, conversely, creates interest with a subtle impact.

Flowers contribute positively to any space as they bring the outside in, creating a nature filled environment, even in a windowless room. In addition, the variety of colors that flowers can be represented in allows for the trend to appeal to just about any taste.

Spring has sprung! This season there are definitely perks to having a wall-flower... or an entire bouquet!

This Spring, works of art made their way down the runway in New York for Fashion Week, inspiring emerging trends in the design world. We, here at Map Acte 3, have complied our favorite looks and linked them to some of our favorite works of art. By doing so, we have watched the work of everyone from Carolina Herrera to Victor Vasarely strut down the runway.

Artist-designer collaborations have become stronger, with fashion designers hiring artists to design their runways and collaborating with them in order to create unique, artistic collections, season by season. The relationship between fashion and art has never been stronger, as evidenced by the Spring Fashion Weeks of 2015. We have come to see fashion an art as mirrors for each other. Explore some of the most memorable art reflections from Spring 2015 New York Fashion Week.

Carolina Herrera – Susanne Stahli

Betsy Johnson – Didier Monti-Xhoffer

Mara  Hoffman – Nicolas le Beaun Benic

Sipuma – Georgia O’Keeffe

Tory Burch – Mark Rothko

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. When it comes to Pablo Picasso and Lump, this is absolutely true. Their love affair began like any other – from a short meeting budded a lifelong friendship between the two. We would like to honor last week’s artist of the week by documenting the bond shared between Picasso and his muse, a little rascal named Lump.

During their first encounter, Picasso painted the spunky dachshund on a plate, which he gifted to the pup.

This plate was the first of many depictions of the dog created by the artist throughout their many years of friendship.

In a variety of media and in different styles, Picasso began to paint his beloved dog. One of the most memorable representations of Lump comes in the form of a single line drawing by the artist.

These simple, abstract artworks were a collection by the artist that focused on the figures of the objects, people, and animals he was drawing. These were the result of the artist’s talent in representation, bringing two-dimensional figures to life after placing pencil to paper just once. Lines and curves were marked on the paper in just one stroke, and in this way, Picasso created some of his simplest, yet most interesting abstract works of art.

He not only painted his sweet dog, Lump, but also went on to paint other figures. These abstract drawings are perfect for any space. Their simple elegance complements a chic minimal space, but could also create an air of sophistication for the bedroom of a young adult. Exuding a classic, modern look, these works of art are versatile and timeless.

Picasso’s representations of this adorable dog sparked the creation of this unique series. Explore some of our favorite works from this collection on our website: http://mapacte3.com/index.php/artistinfo?limit=30&p=1&pid=132