A man, a mustache, a genius

Now is the time to get real about Salvador Dali. Or, should we say, surreal.

In Europe and the U.S., the 100th anniversary of the May 11, 1904, birth of the Spanish master of the Surrealist movement is being marked with special exhibits and performances throughout 2004. Taking a cue from his 1931 painting of melting watches, the celebrations testify to the persistence of memory about the flamboyant artist, who died in 1989 in his birthplace, Figueres, Spain.

In the U.S., the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla., will open “Dali Centennial: An American Collection,” which runs Friday through Sept. 26. It will present 59 oils and 63 watercolors and drawings, plus rare documents such as Dali’s birth certificate, school diplomas and a handwritten poem to his wife, Gala.

The show will also include loaned works, such as the artist’s well-known “Soft Construction With Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War” (1936), from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In future months, the Dali museum will host a conference (March 18 to 20) and various homages, including performances by actor-director Dan Khoury portraying the artist (April 23 to May 2). (727) 823-3767, www.salvadordalimuseum.org.

In Europe, two major exhibits are planned; dates have frequently changed, so check ahead. The exhibits:

“Salvador Dali and Mass Culture,” a 300-piece exhibit focusing on his impact on advertising and other aspects of popular culture, is expected to run Jan. 27 to May 23 at the CaixaForum in Barcelona, Spain, then travel to Madrid (June 22 to Aug. 30), the St. Petersburg museum (Oct. 10 to Jan. 12, 2005) and Rotterdam, Netherlands (Feb. 15 to April 15, 2005).

“Dali,” billed as the largest-ever retrospective on the artist, with about 150 oil paintings plus other objects, will run Sept. 5 to Jan. 9, 2005, at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy, then move to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in mid-February 2005.

More than a dozen other Dali exhibits and shows, most in Spain, are planned for 2004. For more information, visit www.dali2004.org or www.salvador-dali.org.