Freud and Dali shared one same belief; that dreams where the key for understanding the subconscious. Sigmund Freud was the first to suggest the idea, from the view of a scientific researcher, and Salvador Dali formed part of the group of artists that founded an entire movement based on that suggestion: the Surrealist Movement.
Sketch of Sigmund Freud made by Salvador Dali in 1937.
Freud and Dali worked with the same material although in different fields. They both chased dreams – or, more accurately, the memories of dreams – but Doctor Freud used the analysis as the prime tool while Artist Dali used paintbrushes.
“Why is it important to remember dreams, anyway?” asked Doris, a lovely and inquisitive teenager with the ability of a prosecutor.
“Because the dream exists only by the memory you cherish.”
“Say what?”
“Is a quote from a famous movie director: Luis Buñuel. Do you know him? He is considered one of the most important directors in film history.”
“I might have heard of him” Doris said. “I believe he’s the director who made those movies that nobody could understand.”
“That’s the one” I said. “He once said that if he had only twenty years left to live, he would have chosen two hours a day of activity, and taken the other twenty-two in dreams, but only if he could remember them.”
“No wonder why people couldn’t understand his movies” Doris said. “The man had his priorities all mixed up.”
“It is not that people couldn’t understand his work; what happened was that his movies had no logic”
“How can people expect to understand something that doesn’t have any logic? That’s weird!” Doris said.
“Surrealists believed that avoiding logic was the only valid way to understand the depth of the unconsciousness. They voluntarily avoided following any logic reasoning while pursuing The Truth” I said.
“What truth?”
“The Truth, the only one, the one which explains reality without any bias or small deviation.”
“Wow! And, did they find it?”
“I’m not so sure. I guess they were talking about a personal truth; one that must be found individually and can only make sense to that one person. Maybe that’s why surrealists were so interested in dreams. They believed that dreams hid the secrets of the unconscious”.
“I don’t get it” Doris said. “If dreams are made with images that our brains take from our memory, where do the unconscious comes in?”
“Remember when we discussed the gestalt effect; the mechanism that the brain uses to put images in our dreams?”
“Yes. You said that the brain has a natural ability to find shapes on everything and complete the missing information, and that same mechanism is related to the way brain puts images in our dreams”
“Very good, Doris! I also said that this mechanism works only when a stimulus appears, remember?”
“Yes. You said that we must ask ourselves where do stimuli for dreams come from”
Artists representing Freud and Dalí in “Hysteria”. Film directed by John Malkovich (1999).
“Exactly! Let’s start with what Dr. Freud proposed. Remember Sigmund Freud?”
“How could I forget him” Doris showed a dislike gesture, rolling her eyes.
“He devoted much of his life to analyze hundreds of his patients’ dreams” I said.
“And thought they were all perverts” she said.
“You don’t like Freud?”
“It is not that I don’t like him… He’s a little creepy, that’s all. His books are very confusing; I tried to read his ideas on dream interpretation and I got lost in the words”.
“Some of what you say is true” I said. “He actually was criticized for some of his ideas, especially those about infantile sexuality. Most of his work is dismissed today by modern psychology and his writings were maybe too academic, but the doctor has some merit”.
“…No one can deny that he shook the world with his ideas, and changed the way we think of ourselves forever. He caused a mental revolution. In a time when superstition and fear ruled the life of mentally ill patients, he provided an alternative: the psychoanalysis”
“… In the next time we meet we will learn about what suggested Freud about the place where stimuli come from. What we will learn about Freud is critical for understanding dreams. Time is out for now. we’ll talk about it next time.”
NOTE: If you found this article interesting, you should read our book “Why Do We Dream?”, where we propose a new mind-bending theory about where do dreams come from and the nature of dreams. Find the Amazon version here.
The amazing new hypothesis about the nature of dreams - written without scientific jargon -, now available in Amazon.
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Hi there! I’m Gustavo and Frugal Science is about helping you rediscover your exploring nature and enjoying the benefits of looking life in a different way. Anybody can become a true explorer –it’s our nature-, all you need is a mindful attention and some frugal science.
Loved how you interwove Freud and Dali into this discussion. That’s why my artwork is so beloved by me… Dali recognized that to the religious (Jew, in this case), the Western Wall of the destroyed Temple involves our collective conscience of millennia. And, his painting captures the “soul” of those who have prayed at the wall for those thousands of years. A dream brought to life, such as it may be.
(You can see the painting here http://www.adjuvancy.com/wordpress/http:/www.adjuvancy.com/wordpress/trust/)
Very interesting Gustavo. I’m looking forward to the next installment. While Freud’s contribution to the world, particularly to psychology are undeniable, I have some issues with his “analysis” of some things. I’m more a Jungian myself.
I believe there are different forms of dreams. I’ve had shared dreams and prophetic dreams as well those subconscious message dreams. I wouldn’t want to hear Freud’s analysis of some of my dreams.
Ha, Socratic dialog lives! And it’s still a brilliant way to help people understand complex abstract concepts. Beautifully constructed, Gustavo, and I look forward to reading more from you. Sign me up.
Yes! I remember your beautiful painting: the Wailing Wall, Roy. In fact, I am jumping to your blog to search for it, to see it again.
Hi Julia,
Thank you for your comment. Please stay tuned for the next posts. Jung in on deck and I would really need the insights of an expert.
Hi Alan,
You are so right. If it wasn’t for this dialogues, I wouldn’t be able to explain this subjects.
Love this post and the “experts” you talk about. I love dreams and was excited to see your thoughts here. I’m wanting to find a film by the director you mentioned, just to check it out. Sounds very interesting.
Gustavo,whatever day you post is fine with me. Roy, I can’t believe you have a Dali painting. I think of myself as a Jungian, too, Julie, but not in terms of dreams. I am not sure what I am in dreams. And I think Freud was messed up sexually, but I’m glad he figured out that mentally ill people didn’t all need to be locked up. Thanks for all the explanations, except you left out the names of some of the movies Bunuel directed.(I can’t figure out how to get the tilde over the n, sorry).
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This is definitely very interesting Gustavo.. I hope you can post more and let us be aware with some things even related to this.. Thanks!
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I’ve had to read a fair bit of Freud as part of graduate level philosophy, and while I do understand how heavily his work impacted all of Humanities’ disciplines, I am looking forward to the day I don’t need to read his texts again
Dreams are our salve and our inspiration, food and breath for anxious, over-stimulated minds. I think what Dali and Freud had most in common was the courage to say our dreams are valuable. However they are interpreted 
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[...] we mentioned in the previous post, the doctor shook the world with his revolutionary ideas, and changed the way we think of ourselves [...]
Hi Michele,
If you decide to watch one of them, please send me your feedback, I will be very glad to share it.
gustavo recently posted..Freud on dreams
Hi Ann,
Thank you for your supportive and funny comment, as you usually manage to build them.
gustavo recently posted..Freud on dreams
Hi Kamin.
I will surely do. I have still too much to explore in this subject and I will definitely will post it here aat FS.
gustavo recently posted..Freud on dreams
Hi Desi,
LOL! Yes, Freud does that effect on people – nor only on Doris. Always great to receive the comments of a friend.
gustavo recently posted..Freud on dreams