Hello, Dali

The Persistence of Memory (1931)

     Salvador Dali was the most famous of the surrealist painters. People often asked him the real meaning behind his art.
     «How do you expect to understand my paintings when I don't understand any of them myself?» he would answer. Because Dali «was a surrealist, he didn't believe that a work of art should be easily understood. In his most famous painting, The Persistence of Memory, Dali uses symbols and shapes to make the painting's viewer feel a certain mood.
   Because Dali trusted his dreams more than the objects he saw around him, his paintings are filled with symbols from his dreams. For example, in Persistence of Memory, ants might simbolize his fear of insects, and the closed eyelid on the ground could simbolize dreaming, one of the most important sources of ideas for surrealists.
LEONARD, Jennifer - "Dreamning with the surrealists", in Highlights for children (1994).

Joan Miró, "Carnaval of Harlequin" (1924-25)

    «Have you ever had a strange dream that you remembered perfectly and yet didn't understand at all? Believe it or not, you might be on your way to be a famous artist.

    Shortly after World War I, a group of young artists called the "surrealists" used the unusual visions of their dreams and memories to create strange pictures, poems, and sculptures filled with fantastic images.

    The surrealists were young artists and writers who went to Paris in the early 1920s. They came from all over Europe, hoping to be part of an exciting new movement in the arts. They formed a comumunity that worked and lived together.

    Among the artists who practiced surrealism were Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Joan Miró, and Albert Giacommetti.

    In their search for ideas, these artists looked inside their minds for answers. To express themselves, they experimented with many unusual techniques, including painting with their eyes closed or turning their canvases upside down. Others would wake up in the middle of the night to paint their dreams. [...].» by Jennifer Leonard in "Highlights for children" (1994)

Notting Hill Carnival

The origin of the Notting Hill Carnival

«At the roots of the Notting Hill Carnival are the Caribbean carnivals of the early 19th century – a particularly strong tradition in Trinidad – which were all about celebrating the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. The very first carnival was an attempt to showcase the steel band musicians who played in the Earls Court of London every Weekend. When the bands paraded through the streets of Notting Hill, they drew black residents out on to the streets, reminding them of the Caribbean homes they had left behind.

In the days of abolition, there was a strong element of parody in the songs and dances Trinidadians performed. Having been forbidden to hold festivals of their own during the period of slavery, they now took full advantage of the relative new freedoms the ending of slavery brought them. Dressing up in costumes that mimicked the European fashions of their former masters, even whitening their faces with flour or wearing white masks, they established a tradition that continues in the costume-making of today's Notting Hill Carnival. The proper name for this aspect of the Carnival is Mas (derived from Masquerade).»

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