Recent Books

Dali & I

Stan Lauryssens; Translated by Lee Chang-shik from English to Korean; Random House; 360 pp., 12,000 won

This book is the original work that inspired the Hollywood film with the same name starring actor Al Pacino. The film, which will be released in 2010, is based on the life of legendary artist Salvador Dali.

The story is the memoir of Stan Lauryssens who experienced as a high-flying dealer of Dali's artworks the late period of the Spanish artist's life. Dali's surreal images ― melting clocks, weird landscapes, women as fleshy bureaus with drawers open ― have been hot items among art lovers, for the newly rich, investors and shady businessmen looking to launder their black-market cash.

The artworks Lauryssens sold came from some questionable sources, but he soon discovered that the shadiest source of all was Dali himself.

The author who lived next door to the aging artist in the Catalonian hills spent his time with the artists, musicians, business associates and eccentrics who surrounded Dali.

He learned about Dali's secret history, the studio of artists who produced his work, and the moneymaking machine that kept his extravagant lifestyle afloat long after his creativity began to flounder.

The book offers a behind-the-scenes view of the commerce and conspiracy that go hand in hand in the international art world, written by a man who has been to the top only to discover that it's not so different from the bottom.

-Chung Ah-young