Monday, August 23, 2004
Hopper Exhibition At Tate Modern
My family and I just returned from our unbelievable trip to London and Paris. I'll have plenty to say about it in future posts. I know that there is a lot to talk about regarding politics and education. But for now I want to start with art.
The Edward Hopper show was incredible. Over 70 of his pieces spread out vastly over one floor of a warehouse. Actually, it was an abandoned manufacturing plant converted into an art museum. Although this one has a fantastic view of the Thames River.
I have two main impressions from the show. The first relates to my visit to the Whitney biennial exhibition. One of my favorite parts was a video display made from old Nintendo games. The artist had stripped all the characters and props from the scenes and displayed only the background images. What you saw was a movie of clouds and sky. It was beautiful.
When I saw all the Hoppers together I noticed the careful attention that he paid to the backgrounds of his scenes. The manner in which he painted the sky contained gradations of color that were obviously created with great care. I imagined that the painting's subjects had been removed and all that was left was those backgrounds. This exercise increased my appreciation of Hopper's skill as an artist.
The other impression this exhibition made on me concerned the visitors. I have never seen people talking more about paintings. I heard comments about Hopper's style of painting and what he was trying to accomplish. I heard conjectures about the stories being told in the works. It was a reaction I have seen over and over again regarding this artist, but never on this scale. It seemed that everyone that day was a professional art critic.
PermaLink | 8:29 PM |
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The Edward Hopper show was incredible. Over 70 of his pieces spread out vastly over one floor of a warehouse. Actually, it was an abandoned manufacturing plant converted into an art museum. Although this one has a fantastic view of the Thames River.
I have two main impressions from the show. The first relates to my visit to the Whitney biennial exhibition. One of my favorite parts was a video display made from old Nintendo games. The artist had stripped all the characters and props from the scenes and displayed only the background images. What you saw was a movie of clouds and sky. It was beautiful.
When I saw all the Hoppers together I noticed the careful attention that he paid to the backgrounds of his scenes. The manner in which he painted the sky contained gradations of color that were obviously created with great care. I imagined that the painting's subjects had been removed and all that was left was those backgrounds. This exercise increased my appreciation of Hopper's skill as an artist.
The other impression this exhibition made on me concerned the visitors. I have never seen people talking more about paintings. I heard comments about Hopper's style of painting and what he was trying to accomplish. I heard conjectures about the stories being told in the works. It was a reaction I have seen over and over again regarding this artist, but never on this scale. It seemed that everyone that day was a professional art critic.
PermaLink | 8:29 PM |
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