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Inimitable Artist Dali Gets Imitated

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By JOEL ROZEN Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 10, 2008

With his trench coat, walking cane and moustache angled upward, Salvador Dali was as much an icon of flamboyant personal style as he was a master painter. His look still inspires scores of whiskered fans; his fashion choices are still emulated by many a bohemian.

Of course, not every enthusiast can shave quite like the Spanish surrealist.

"I'm a girl, so I can't really look like him," says Boo Ehrsam, describing the abstract "Mother Earth" costume she created to channel her hero.

For the Pinellas Park-based artist and costumer, however, just being "Dalinean" may be good enough to win her a prize.

Today, in honor of the late artist's 104th birthday and an exhibit of his film work, the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg will host its first "Look-Alike Party," a two-part competition for Dali impersonators.

Ehrsam and 14 other fans competed in the first part last month, submitting one-minute video clips of themselves either posing as the artist or epitomizing his "spirit."

Tonight, guests at a museum party will view the video entries and learn which was the favorite of filmmaker John Waters, director of "Pink Flamingos" and the original "Hairspray."

Waters will not be there, but more than a dozen Dali buffs are expected to compete in the second phase of the contest, for which they will be judged by their creative efforts to impersonate Dali in person.

A weekend resort getaway and $500 museum store shopping spree are among the prizes for the top Dali doppelgangers. While the rules leave lots of wiggle room for creative interpretation - costume judge and local artist Sterling Powell says he will award those who simply "stand out from everyone else" - local fans are already eager to prove just how uncannily they can match that moustache.

"Dali and I go a long way back," says Jose Luis Pawelek. "I'm creative just like him. I'm Latino just like him. And I have a beautiful wife, just like him. And, I'm a little crazy on the side, so I can relate to him."

Pawelek, an Argentine restaurateur who lives in Gulf Gate, says his wife, Catherine, helped him make his film about a month ago in his backyard.

In his entry, he stands with cane and jacket among ficus and palm fronds, spouting Dali-isms about how crazy he is for chocolate bars. Pawelek says he got the idea from some TV commercials the surrealist made in the 1960s.

For the costume bash, he is already planning his entourage. Catherine will arrive as Gala, Dali's wife and longtime muse. His restaurant staff signed on to come dressed as his paparazzi.

"I'm telling you, I looked at the video. I'm a dead-ringer for the guy," he says. "I think we're gonna win, man. I mean, really!"

Not if Michael Conway can help it. When he heard of the video contest, the freelance photographer and Web designer knew he would have to think creatively to overcome his own handicap.

"From the front, I don't think I look like Dali," Conway says. "But from the back I do."

In April, in his St. Petersburg studio - a gutted condominium - he stood facing away from the camera, a wisp of a moustache just visible on either side of his head.

It was not long before he was talking to the wall.

"Finally I blurt out, 'The difference between a madman and me is I am not mad,'" he recalls of his choice to quote Dali. "It was partially my trying to decide what to do to break up the monotony."

For lack of proper front-on looks, Conway is not sure he will enter today's costume competition. His impersonation talent, he says, is more "intellectual."

"I haven't gone out and physically impersonated any artist," he says.

"But in my mind I often think, 'What would an artist do?'"

DALI MUSEUM LOOK-ALIKE PARTY

When: 9 p.m.-midnight tonight

Where: Salvador Dali Museum, 1000 Third St. S., St. Petersburg

Admission: Free

Information: (727) 823-3767; salvadordalimuseum.org.

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