Art of the Month: Edward Hopper

[unityofeffect]

I had a relatively easy time deciding on Edward Hopper as this month's artist. I did not have an easy time deciding on which painting I wanted to highlight. Because of that, and because I will need to share some of his other works to help illustrate my thoughts and feelings about Hopper, I will post some of his other paintings in this blog. (For those of you who have happened upon this blog without going through my profile, go to my profile to see the selected painting - Summertime.)

The reason I so easily chose Edward Hopper is because, as I was perusing his work, I found myself leaning back, taking a deep breath, and just sinking in to the paintings. I actively enjoy looking at them. He is a master of light and shadow and once said that all he ever aspired to paint was “sunlight on the side of a house.” When I look at his paintings I can touch the light, smell the quality of the air, feel that quietness that seems to permeate his work.

He's often thought of as an artist who painted loneliness, sadness, and the American condition. I think he was most excellent at capturing moments in time. They're voyeuristic on multiple levels. There's a sense of watching and of being watched. Many of his subjects include windows, doors, buildings, trains, which, aside from intensifying the voyeuristic quality, also seem to imply transition and movement. Your eye follows the woman's gaze as she looks off in to the distance. We peek in to the windows, around corners, out of doors. They feel familiar but mysterious. There is a loneliness but it is not sad.

I finally set on Summertime as a tribute to the end of summer. I think a paragraph from this article captures the feel of the painting - "In Summertime, Hopper suggests a sweltering summer day with the short, heavy shadows of noon. The movement of the curtains, blown no doubt by a fan inside the building, emphasizes the airlessness. The opened doorway remains in shadow, denying us a view of the interior beyond the patterned floor of the entrance. The woman's rounded forms, revealed by the clinging translucent dress, contrast with the severe masonry."

Here are some more of his paintings that you can sink in to.

Morning Sun, 1952

New York Movie, 1939

Compartment C, Car 293, 1938

Sun In An Empty Room, 1963

Pennsylvania Coal Town, 1947

So how do his paintings make you feel?

[unityofeffect]

Posting Art of the Month picture here to wrap up this latest blog. In the future I'll post the art in the original blog post discussion as well as my profile.

Art of the Month

Summertime, Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

[unityofeffect]

@Evelyne I feel you on time speeding by. I've been kind of surprised that my 30's actually feel different from my 20's.

I think those little moments in time, pauses in life, are some of the best parts. They feel to me like little postcards for your heart. Moments where you stop and feel truly alive. They tend to only happen when a person is alone. That's why I love Hopper so much. He really captures that feeling for me. He reminds me that everyone has these moments.

I'm really glad you're enjoying the Art blogs. :)

[Evelyne]

I must say UofE, I'm loving these monthly art postings that you've started, and I'm so glad you posted several Hopper's to enjoy!
(although I'm a little slow on the uptake, seeing as you posted these at the end of September X} )
I totally get the sense of being a voyeur, and perhaps staring a bit to long at someone while people watching (which I do quite often). I too feel the lonliness and isolation, but not necessarily the sadness (I do feel sadness with morning sun, however,...I get the distinct feeling that she is longing for someone. I know that when I am paralysed with sadness, I am prone to stare out a window at nothing, sinking myself into fantasy...

And of course being the master of light that he is, you get a real feeling of temperature as well. "Summertime" just feels HOT; that sort of oppressive heat from the sun beating down mercilessly on the city pavement. "Pennsylvania Coal Town" feels much cooler, as we are standing in either morning or evening shadow.

There is something about moments frozen in time that creates a little ache in my heart. As we are all growing older (I will be 30 next June), I find that time is moving at break-neck speed. Summer after Summer is just flying by me, and I am reminded of that fact more so when I am suspended in one of my own little 'nothing' moments, like drinking coffee by myself in the morning, or digging in the garden, or walking my dog alone down my deserted street.
I suppose you never notice the passage of time when you are with someone, but when you're alone its another story!

[unityofeffect]

@Morgan le Fay I love that term!

@Katherine You're welcome. He is wonderful. I'm always surprised by critics who dismiss him as "just an illustrator."

Thanks soooo much for pointing that out. It was late when I posted and I knew something was wrong but couldn't figure out what it was! I've fixed it now. :)

[Katherine]

Thank you for reminding me of all of Hopper's greatness, I had forgotten about how nice it is to get lost in "New York Movie"! Hopper truly makes life appear worth experiencing than any other painter has.
P.S. In case you didn't notice--you have "Compartment C, Car 293" posted rather than "Automat."

[Morgan le Fay]

Yay Edward Hopper! You know, during the reading of your post I remembered a trope by Fray Luis de León, a Spanish writer. We described the rays of light that we can see filtering throu windows but don't actually illuminate anything as "Unused light" ("Luz no usada" in Spanish). I was vividly reminded of the image by these paintings.

[unityofeffect]

@Christian I love how much you saw in to it. That is such a cool interpretation. I agree, it does have that feeling of her being on the outside while the world is in the theater. I secretly thought that one might be your favorite. It's one of mine too.

@Evangeline I'm so glad you've enjoyed them! That inspires me to keep doing them.

The sense of expectation in his paintings is really exciting. I love that sense of things being on pause, just before something is about to happen. It pulls me in and, aside from making me wonder what's going on with the subjects of the painting, also reminds me of moments in my own life where I pause and take a breath.

P.S. I love your avatar. I have a card of that painting framed in my bedroom. :D

[Evangeline]

I wanted to say that I've been really digging your Art of the Month blogs.

I don't get a sense of loneliness from his paintings either, more like tantalizing possibility. The glimpses through windows and doorways, the almost expectant stillness. What is about to happen? In Morning Sun is she waiting for someone or has she just been left? Is she thinking about what she will face in her day? Deciding something? Missing someone? So to me they are mysterious, hints of complex stories belying their simplicity, but they are hopeful too. The light in them illuminates and uplifts the subjects...it could be something good just around that corner or through the doorway?