I've always been a fan of Nighthawks. I think it's a great piece of work. When I first saw it, it really got to me. But I never really knew much about the artist, or his other works, until just recently.
My Victorian Lit professor is introducing us to Hardy's poetry right at the end of the semester, so he decided to show us a few of Hopper's paintings. (I think he just really likes a lot of paintings; he seems to go out of his way to show us some things, and this is one of them, but I like it) His point was that Hopper's work expressed the same kind've mood and feeling that Hardy was going for.
Ever see something that just leaps out and hits you in the face? I remember the first time I saw Magritte's "Son of Man" I stared at it for a half hour. I'm looking at it right now, I have a poster of it on my wall. This was the same sort of thing.
Hopper does not paint anything fantastic. He paints ordinary people doing ordinary things. And this is where the tragedy lies. His scenes all impress upon the viewer a profound sense of detachment, the feeling of being totally lost. Spiritual malaise, to use a buzzword that has since become a cliche. All of them depict ordinary people, but all of them seem stricken with a sudden sense of loneliness, a sudden realization of the distance that's grown between them and the rest of the world. I think this is mostly accomplished by how the subjects are usually off center from the rest of the scenery.
I don't know if Hardy is exactly the right attitude for Hopper. To me it was T.S. Eliot, because the modernity in Hopper seems very important. Preludes springs to mind, as does Prufrock. Particularly:
I am moved by fancies that are curled Around these images, and cling: The notion of some infinitely gentle Infinitely suffering thing.
Anyways, that's just me talking about something that struck me today. Have any of you had something like this?
[ April 30, 2004, 01:58 AM: Message edited by: Book ]
Posted by Scythrop (Member # 5731) on :
Book -
I'm with you on Hopper. One of my favourite artists, though not my all time. That honour belongs to Jeffrey Smart - though the two have a number of similarities in the way they see people against the backdrop of the modern world.
I have always loved Smart's use of light to create a sense of displacement about his scenes, and also his obsessive attention to composition.
None of my favourite works by Smart appear to be online, but you can see some examples of his work here Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Here are a few favorites. Man, you can tell I'm really acting like a dork about this.