How to Translate an Artwork?

• Artwork: The Persistence of Memory
• Artist: Salvador Dalí
• Date: 1931
• Medium: Oil painting
• Dimensions: 24cm x 33cm

Artwork Analysis

• Historical Context
  • Created during Surrealist movement
  • Influenced by Einstein’s theory of relativity
  • Challenge notions of time and perception
  • Reflects modernist fragmentation of reality
• Composition
  • Barren landscape with low horizon line
  • Asymmetrical balance
  • Diverse salience points
  • Distorted and fluid shapes
  • Geometric contrast with organic form
• Colour
  • Muted earth tones
  • Dream-like atmosphere
  • Soft blues and yellows
  • Increases psychological tension

Methods of Translation

1. Properties translation
   • Translate linear and shape properties
   • Organic vs geometric
2. Colour translation
   • Simplifying the painting into dominant colour blocks
3. Conceptual Translation
   • Perpetual cycle of time
   • Global time zones