Mr. U's Respect is Reinforced
I have always had strong, favorable responses to the work of Edward Hopper, but until visiting his exhibit yesterday at the National Gallery of Art I never gave much thought to why - beyond the fact that I'm a depressive who is attracted to images of loneliness and isolation. But there is a great deal more to Hopper's work than his solitary people.
He was a master at capturing the interplay of shadows and light. He used them to detail his paintings like a lighting designer on a film set. Color is frequently of secondary importance to shading in establishing mood in Hopper's work. Were he a filmmaker, he would work most effectively in black and white. New York Movie, and Rooms for Tourists are fine examples among many others.
Like many of my favorite artists, Hopper sought to document the beauty of ordinary people and objects. Throughout his life in New York City he chose mundane storefronts, anonymous individuals and tiny corner cafes as his subjects despite the looming presence of monumental bridges and skyscrapers. Hopper was clearly uninterested in the obvious. He celebrated the joy and deep rewards that can only come from looking closely. See Automat, Gas, and Drug Store.
The only hindrance to my Hopper experience yesterday was the hundreds of people crowded into the exhibit with us. By the time we got to his later, more famous work the gallery was shoulder to shoulder with people and I felt like I was in line to ride Space Mountain, so we had to cut the visit a little short.
While in D.C. visiting the gallery, these license plates bewildered us. Taxation Without Representation? Was the local leadership mocking its consituency? Was the motor vehicle authority issuing satirical license plates? If so, I wanted in. Well, it turns out that residents of Washington D.C. really are taxed without being represented. Check out this article.
I have always had strong, favorable responses to the work of Edward Hopper, but until visiting his exhibit yesterday at the National Gallery of Art I never gave much thought to why - beyond the fact that I'm a depressive who is attracted to images of loneliness and isolation. But there is a great deal more to Hopper's work than his solitary people.
He was a master at capturing the interplay of shadows and light. He used them to detail his paintings like a lighting designer on a film set. Color is frequently of secondary importance to shading in establishing mood in Hopper's work. Were he a filmmaker, he would work most effectively in black and white. New York Movie, and Rooms for Tourists are fine examples among many others.
Like many of my favorite artists, Hopper sought to document the beauty of ordinary people and objects. Throughout his life in New York City he chose mundane storefronts, anonymous individuals and tiny corner cafes as his subjects despite the looming presence of monumental bridges and skyscrapers. Hopper was clearly uninterested in the obvious. He celebrated the joy and deep rewards that can only come from looking closely. See Automat, Gas, and Drug Store.
The only hindrance to my Hopper experience yesterday was the hundreds of people crowded into the exhibit with us. By the time we got to his later, more famous work the gallery was shoulder to shoulder with people and I felt like I was in line to ride Space Mountain, so we had to cut the visit a little short.
While in D.C. visiting the gallery, these license plates bewildered us. Taxation Without Representation? Was the local leadership mocking its consituency? Was the motor vehicle authority issuing satirical license plates? If so, I wanted in. Well, it turns out that residents of Washington D.C. really are taxed without being represented. Check out this article.
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