let's start with a relatively obvious guy: Salvador Dali. Dali was a surrealist painter, and one of the greatest and most famous. he didn't give a shit about anything, he called himself a genius without shame, and did not see a problem with commercialisation of his art, or himself. for example, he got his autograph printed on many blank pieces of paper just to sell them, and he appeared in a couple of television commercials to promote chocolate or cars or whatever.
he is quoted as saying "i don't do drugs, i am drugs".
Dali got together with Spanish director Luis Bunuel to make the movie 'Un Chien Andalou', which follows dream logic, or something. i believe it is really about nothing at all, but art historians and critics have spent countless hours pouring over the film and trying to grasp its supposed meaning, which is funny :)
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my favorite painting by Dali is the Temptation of St Anthony. it shows St Anthony naked in the desert having weird visions sent to him by demons or Satan or whatever to tempt him. he fashioned a DIY cross out of some twigs to ward them bitches off.
![Image](http://uploads3.wikipaintings.org/images/salvador-dali/the-temptation-of-st-anthony.jpg)
when i was a child i used to dream of scary shit like that, elephants with mosquito's legs and other extreme opposites.
Another nice work he did together with the photographer Philippe Halsman is 'Dali Atomicus' here are some of the failed attempts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD