Imagine a futuristic world.
In this world when you want to bathe, you do not step into a shower. Instead, a helicopter appears in the sky above you and releases a vortex of water to wash you.
In this world you also use a telephone that looks like a lobster. Without having to utter a single word, the lobster phone reads your mind and transmits your ideas, words and emotions. The shape is symbolic of the creature’s many feelers.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
This sci-fi world sounds like an episode of “Black Mirror” or a story by Philip K. Dick.
It is not.
These futuristic inventions are from the wild imagination of surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. They are depicted in a series of 11 artworks he produced from 1975-76 called “Imaginations and Objects of the Future.”
Each of the 11 offer are a peek into the mental dreamscape of Dalí. Each are accompanied by a paragraph written by Dalí that explains his fantastical ideas. He notes how the “Breathing pneumatic armchair” inhales and exhales in unison with the person it hugs to create a sense of calm.
The “Liquid and gaseous television” projects gigantic holographic reconstructions into the heavens. The “Anti-umbrella with atomized liquids” tans its user while simultaneously misting them with dew to nourish the skin.
Dalí produced 25 Épreuve d’Artiste (E.A.) sets of “Imaginations and Objects of the Future.” E.A. sets are artist’s proofs typically retained by the artist, studio or close collaborators. Obtaining E.A. sets of Dalí’s work is a feat, but Lonnie and Karin Mimms of Roswell did it.
They own the 24th of 25 E.A. sets currently on loan to their museum, Mimms Museum of Technology and Art (formerly known as the Computer Museum of America).
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
In March, the Mimms invited guests to the museum to announce the rebranding of their museum and unveil the new Dalí exhibition. The new name, they said, is more representative of the vision they’ve always had for the museum: to showcase the synergy between art and technology.
“We want this to be the Smithsonian for technology,” Karin Mimms said.
“Instead of art being more of a backdrop and more of a subtle thing that is just present throughout the museum, the [Dalí exhibit] was kind of a way to throw it in people’s faces [by showing] a single artist with a lot of technology connections,” added Lonnie Mimms.
Stumbling upon Mimms Museum is a bit like opening the wardrobe to Narnia. This surprising museum is in what used to be a big-box store on the backside of a strip mall in Roswell next to the Area 51 Aurora Cineplex and Fringe miniature golf course.
The museum is hidden from view from Alpharetta Street, so unless you know it’s there, or are headed to play Putt-Putt or see a movie, you’re likely to miss it. But venture inside and you’ll likely be shocked by the treasures inside.
Credit: Matt Kempner
Credit: Matt Kempner
In the entry, there is an original 1936 Enigma machine used by the German military during World War II to encode secret messages. A few steps further is an impressive, multilayered timeline spanning about 50 feet long. It stacks detailed timelines of innovations in art, transportation, astronomy, flight, space, science, games, technology and computers.
At the end of that hall is an 1800s Jacquard loom with the original punch card machine. A video explains how the loom can be seen as a link to the beginning of modern computing.
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
In the center of the museum is a circular room devoted to space travel. This room reveals how essential the space race was in catalyzing advances in the miniaturization of computing power.
The centerpiece of the space room is a 70% scale model of the Apollo lunar module. Other highlights include onboard guidance computers, mission control technology, a replica of sputnik, a coin that flew to the moon and a fascinating display that explains how the James Webb Telescope can create color images of space using wavelength data.
On the backside of the museum is a warehouse of super computers used in weather modeling, space research, artificial intelligence, movie effects, genetic research, national defense and Bitcoin mining.
A former NASA Cray-2 supercomputer weighs 13 tons and had to be reassembled piece by piece after being rescued from possible destruction. The supercomputer zone puts into perspective just how critical computing power is to a wide spectrum of industries.
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
Retro games, film industry props (like electric bikes from the show “Westworld”), early Microsoft products, art prints (there are two Warhols, including the one of Jimmy Carter) and other quirky artifacts are sprinkled throughout.
And in one corner of this technological wonderland is perhaps the most surprising of all: the new Dalí exhibition.
At first glance, the exhibition almost feels misplaced. Its clean white walls, curated artworks and gallery lighting feel like a sudden departure from the vibes of the rest. Take a closer look, however, and the connection becomes clear.
“Dalí was extremely interested in scientific possibilities throughout his life, from relativity theory in the 1930s through atomic physics in the 1950s and later DNA and holography,” said Elliot King, an art historian specializing in Dalí and Surrealism. King served as guest curator for the High Museum’s 2010-2011 Dalí exhibition. “(‘Imaginations and Objects of the Future’) seems to me a really perfect group of images to exhibit at a museum devoted to technology and art.”
Mimms’ Dalí exhibition includes 30 of Dalí’s artworks, including the complete “Imaginations and Objects of the Future” and “Hommage à Leonardo da Vinci” series. In the latter, Dalí applies his dreamlike lens to reinterpret da Vinci’s mechanical inventions, anatomical studies and botanical illustrations.
A few stand-alone works round out the collection, including Zodiac-themed lithographs and some of Dalí’s quintessential melting clocks.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
While Dalí’s graphics are often “not thought of in scholarship as being as serious as paintings since there are multiples,” King said, “that attitude is really changing since there are some very fresh ideas emerging from images such as these. It is exciting to see the looser, more expressionistic style combined with Dalí’s fruitful creative imagination.”
Karin Mimms is hopeful the Dalí exhibition will have an impact on the museum’s audience and their perception of the museum.
“It is bringing those two (art and technology) together to collide,” she said. “This is part of who we are and what we’re trying to do — to connect those dots. … Hopefully it brings in a whole other audience that might walk in to see the art, but then see what else is here. It allows us an opportunity to educate and inspire.”
If you go
Dalí on display through February 2026. Mimms Museum of Technology and Art. 5000 Commerce Pkwy Roswell, Ga., 30076. Museum hours Wednesday through Sunday Noon to 5 p.m. Adults $18. Mimmsmuseum.org.
Night Mode, an adult-centric evening event, will also take place on Fridays June 13, July 11 and Aug. 8 from 5-9 p.m. Wine, beer and soft drinks will be served. Regular admission applies.
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