User:Loes van Dorp/Salvador Dali 'The Persistence of Memory'*

Salvador Dali

'The Persistence of Memory' Dali painted it during his psychoanalytical era of painting. Beside painter Dali was also a philosopher. He had significant interest in science and psychology. He studied the works of Freud and Nietzsche.

According to most recent discoveries by scientists, forming memory is a four-step process. It is known that the four main human memory types are sensory memory, working memory, short-term memory and long-term memory.

According to one theory, the sensory memory is the persistence of sensations. Dali's paintings are psychologically deep, and perhaps the sensory memory is what influenced the famous 'melted clock' painting since it is precisely this type of memory that makes it possible to attach our experiences to something we end up remembering at its deepest level. There are two interpretations, which both are interesting.

Interpretation 1: The persistence of memory meaning theme: the drooping pocket watches possibly suggest the irrelevance of time during sleep. In other words, when we are asleep, or not conscious, the time does not persist, but memories do.

Interpretation 2: Yet another interpretation of this painting may, through the use of symbolism, suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and is not fixed.