2004-05: Shaking the Foundations of the Western Tradition

This centenary of the birth of Spanish-Catalán artist Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) and Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) affords us the opportunity to honor their work, learn about the personal and intellectual environments in which they came of age, and reflect on the meaning of their lives and works for us in the early 21st century. From opposite ends of the Hispanic world, the two shared certain circumstances: Both Dalí and Neruda felt close to the sea and landscape of their native region, yet became in their own way citizens of the world. Each in his own medium experimented with surrealist explorations of the inner self, creating visual and word images that often delighted their avant-garde colleagues and produced consternation in the public. Both experienced periods of exile because of the political climate in their homeland. While embracing revolutionary changes in art and society, Dalí and Neruda become consecrated as visionaries of new ways of being human and of transforming human culture and history. They and their unique creative works constitute powerful critical perspectives on the Western tradition and challenged the moral, social and political values of their day. In this sense they form part of the mainstream of twentieth century art and literature.   (learn more)

Schedule of Events:

"Pablo Neruda, el último poeta romántico"
Julio Ortega
Sept. 27, 2004
7:30 p.m.
Willard Smith Library

“Dos mitos en escena: Don Juan y Dalí”
Luciano Garcia Lorenzo
Oct. 11, 2004
7:30 p.m.
Willard Smith Library

"The Conquest of the Irrational: Salvador Dalí and the Limits of Surrealism"
Michael R. Taylor
Oct. 27, 2004
7:30 p.m.
Willard Smith Library

"In the Surrealist Mode: Salvador Dalí and Federico García Lorca"
Robert Lima
Nov.  3, 2004 @ 7:30 p.m.
Willard Smith Library

Joan Ramon Resina
Spring Semester: TBA

Additional Events:

Visit to Philadelphia Museum of Art, Salvador Dalí Exhibit:
The Philadelphia Museum of Art hosts the main retrospective of Dalí’s works in the United States. More than 200 works of the Spanish painter’s art will be on display, some of which have not yet been shown in the U.S.

Pablo Neruda Today:
Bilingual Poetry Reading from the works of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda

Poetry and Social Justice:
Round Table Discussion of the works of Pablo Neruda and other politically engaged poets of Latin America and Spain