Homage to Newton (no, not the hawker centre)

So in an attempt to figure out why Salvador Dali's sculpture "Homage to Newton" in the open plaza between the two UOB plazas has an extra dismembered toe, I chanced upon this description from dalifineart.com:



Dalí honours Sir Isaac Newton for his discovery of the Law of Gravity, symbolised by the celebrated falling apple, which is represented here by a sphere of metal attached to a line. In this form, the apple loses both its impermanence and its capacity for regeneration. Dalí implies that the living being, Sir Isaac Newton, has become a mere name in science, completely stripped of his personality and individuality. To represent this transformation, Dalí has pierced the figure with two large holes: one that portrays the absence of Newton's vital organs, while the other clearly displays the lack of mind. What remains is only symbolic representation.

Which i thought was damn funny, because the description that Singapore put at the bottom of the sculpture outside UOB was:

In the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity. Legend tells us that origin of this most important and fundamental physical law was initiated by the falling of an apple, represented in the present work by the ball falling from the right hand.

Salvador Dali, one of the most important surrealist artists, takes the liberty to go even further in paying homage to Newton by opening up the torso of the figure and suspending the heart to indicate 'open-heartedness'. The open head represents an 'open-mind'. These are two necessary qualities for the discovery of important natural laws as well as for success of all human endeavours.

Sound a bit like brainwashing and pushing certain desirable traits? hmm.

The gaps are cool, but i'm more interested in the toe.



It's right next to this foot which has been segmented, unlike the gaps in the body and head. Seems an attempt to avoid a parallel with the stigmata holes in the feet of Christ, perhaps? hmm. Also it seems like his foundation and base is not as stable as he would have wished. And perhaps the extra toe is a result of some quantum randomness! So the toe next to the segmented foot must be an indication of how important Newton was, although the foundations of physics itself would be changed and toes would fly one day and whales turn into bowls of petunias. Yes.

This is probably why some of my friends don't like art critics.