An intro

Upon first seeing the image of Salvador Dali floating in mid-air with loaves of bread hovering behind, the initial reaction is one of laughter and curiosity. Why would the photographer, Philippe Halsman, capture such a moment of awkwardness and instability? The photo, simply entitled Salvador Dali, is one of many in a series of photographs from the book Jump!, by Halsman himself. In the photo, Dali’s body language, as well as the background items and people serve to mesh Dali’s fascination with both science and religion and makes the argument for the belief in both while simultaneously also feeding the Dali ego by drawing attention to both the art and subject, Dali, of the art itself.