The rhinocerotic complex

The rhinocerotic figure of Ilissus

1. This comes from what the painter described as his ‘almost divine and chaste rhinoceros- horn period,’ when he claimed that the curve of the beast’s horn was the only perfect logarithmic spiral and consequently the ultimate in formal perfection. Here a torso from the Parthenon by the most famous of ancient Greek sculptors, Phidias, is fragmenting into a rhino head and horn-shapes which hang above a typical Dali seascape, which is in turn suspended over the sea-bed. [1]

The river- god Ilissos

2. Probably the original Ilissus had been sculptured by Phidias. This is a river (Ilissos) represented by a human figure (a deity). The personification of a river by a deity (in human form) is at the same time the naturalization of the human form by a natural element (the river). The blending in art of nature with human phantasy is a civilized way to express the primordial creatures living in the collective mind of humanity. This time the Ilissos of an ancient sculptor becomes the Ilissus of a modern painter. However this time the body of the deity is not made from the smooth and continuous lines of marble, but from the pointed and interrupted series of rhino horns. What a peculiar inspiration!

Vector calculus with horns

3. In modern mathematics all objects can be represented by vectors which live in an abstract space. Vectors however are not only arrow-like. They can also be collections of things. Not only the position and motion of objects can be described by vectors which contain the space and time coordinates, but also all possible states of an object can be described by a wavefunction which is a vector living again in an abstract space. Similarly the horn of a rhino can be seen as a vector in the abstract space of the painter’s imagination, used for the reconstruction of the physical world.

The rhinoceros

4. This is another species on the verge of extinction. The animal has been hunted for the (supposed) therapeutical and aphrodisiac aspects of its horn. Perhaps the deepest cause is the pleasure of taking revenge from nature. When we cannot find any reason or excuse to kill an animal or hurt somebody then we keep on hunting just for fun. Art can compensate for our predatory instincts as a form of creative relief. See for example how gracefully the male image emerges in the painting with a merciless desire and aggressive passion but without hurting anybody. It is perhaps the deepest understanding of absolute power what finally makes us peaceful giants instead of inferior tyrants.

The rhinocerotic complex

5. The rhinoceros is a wonderful and gentle creature. But we are used to paying attention to the animal’s volume instead of its psychic world. By doing the latter we might be able to see inside the animal’s soul a benevolent aspect of our own selves. Besides the quantification of everything which modern science has attempted, there is also the eroticization which the painter provokes in his masterpiece. Such a unification between love and the mind can only be achieved through the expression of the primordial animal instinct on its route toward eternal beauty. The rhinocerotic complex could be such a sexual predominance which lacks however the modesty of the human spirit.

[1]: [https://www.dalipaintings.com/rhinocerotic-figure-of-phidias-illisos.jsp]

8/13/2018

Painting: Rhinocerotic Figure of Phidias’s Ilissus, Salvador Dali