Salvador Dali’s surrealistic art style and presumably his most notorious work, Persistence of Memory, are well known by many. However, people don’t really think about his works in depth. They only see the obscurity and oddness about it, not realizing that it is something that everyone can relate to. Through this space I created, I want people to really experience Dali’s world, rather than just seeing one of his works just hanging on a museum and being tempting to just pass by it. First, I created the room and the stairs with a white board. Then, I painted the walls with paint and constructed the landscape with clay which I later painted. Lastly, I provided a chair in the center of the room for people to sit comfortably and feel as if they are part of his world. I was mainly inspired by his art style — the landscape he frequently uses in his works and the melting clocks hanging on tree branches — and his obsession with the idea of dream. One of the challenges I was dealing with was the color of the chair. I was originally thinking of putting a bean bag to provide maximum comfort for the peers as they experience the space. However, after the critique on Bridge 4, I’ve decided to put a wood chair so that the color of the chair can be similar with the chair of the branches to provide cohesiveness. I wanted the memorial to be put in a public space like a park to allow it to feel welcoming for anyone who passes by it. I chose Central Park because it is it is the most visited park in New York City and it is located near St. Regis hotel where Dali and his wife, Gala, lived during the fall and winter in the 1960s and 70s.
