Art News

Gaudi and Dali in Catalonia: Even Teens are Wowed

FIGUERES (AP).- “That is a bit exaggerated, no,” wondered Corneel wide-eyed, as he walked through Salvador Dali’s magic kingdom, also known as Teatre-Museu Dali. Unbound imagination is supposed to be the realm of tender teenagers like my son. So when even they cannot quite fathom the folly of an aging artist, it must be something to behold. Golden eggs on top of a claret-colored wedding cake palace were one thing. Add diamond-studded rings with a beating heart and an oversized statue of a chained opulent woman on top of a classic old car, and the viewer may be baffled. Love it, loathe it, it leaves no one indifferent. Dali truly took surrealism to unmatched heights and became one of the 20th century’s most prominent artists. And to think Dali is not even the only “mad artist” to be found in this sun-and-sea-kissed region of Spain. Some 90 miles from Figueres, in Barcelona, the architect Antoni Gaudi invented dragons covered in clipped, glazed tiles, and had visions of churches a