Customer Reviews

Maniac Eyeball: The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dali (Creation Art Directives)

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I don't believe a word that Dalí said in this book. Nor do I disbelieve anything. Mostly, I think the literal truth of any statement he makes is irrelevant. You should treat this as a Dalinian self-portrait in words, as vivid, precise, and impossible as any of his paintings.

Dalí makes it clear that Dalí's biggest achievement is Dalí. He recounts even his masturbations and defecations. Nothing is mundane in his world. Everything has some glow of the holy, profane, crass, or inspiring, and it's not clear that there's any difference. He is free with his opinions on the famous names in his circle, including Picasso and Coco Chanel. He's also free with his opinions on art, or rather on artists, especially the Spanish and most especially the Catalan. Dalí is proudly Catalan, so it's only natural that artists would rise in his esteem as they become more the way he sees himself.

It's not quite clear how much of the wording is literally Dalí's and how much came from Andre Parinaud, the compiler and editor. The book's underlying time-line is quite linear, not a trait I associate with Dalí's writing. Even so, this book gives an other-worldly look into Dalí's incredible mind.

-- wiredweird

I bought the book based on the promise of "unspeakable confessions." What I got was an extremist portraying himself as such and not a lot of confessing. I couldn't decipher between Dali's real life experiences and his overactive imagination. I only got through about 3/4 of the book before I had enough; kinda felt like Dali was desperately trying to prove himself 'surreal'. The book would have benefited from more input from an outsiders perspective to help separate the real from the ramblings of a maniac.