November 11, 2006
INTO THE HOPPER
Last week, I wrote an aside about painter Edward Hopper [see SCRIPT AT LARGE, 11/01/06] when discussing the possibility of a Jim Thompson script commissioned by Stanley Kubrick. Coincidentally, The Whitney currently has a full floor committed to displaying Hopper's work.
Most people are probably familiar with Hopper's work in a tangential way, via a popular reproduction that replaces the three counter characters in "Nighthawks" with Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean. Hopper's work is much less pop-art than that, however, capturing the quotidian isolation of urban living rather than something you'd buy at Spencer Gifts.
The entire fifth floor of the Museum is devoted to a large-scale presentation of works by Hopper, whose legacy is closely connected to the Whitneyhome to the most extensive holdings of his work in the world. On view are not only the Whitneys most iconic Hopper paintings, but also an extraordinary selection of drawings and sketches made in preparation for these works. The Whitneys holdings are supplemented by key loans, including such major paintings as the Art Institute of Chicagos Nighthawks (1942, on view beginning October 4) and the Museum of Modern Arts New York Movie (1939).
Hopper's work embodies an interesting inter-World War style that blends impressionism with classic realism. In my mind, it's representative of an arrested and hesistant style stuck between two worlds, as the world itself was about to experience cataclysmic upheaval. The staticness of a lot of Hopper's works seems to be symbolic of a world holding its breath.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at November 11, 2006 4:24 PM
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