“Edward Hopper and the Geometry of
Despair” is an essay that acts as an analysis of Hopper’s paintings throughout
his career. The author, Geoffrey Bent, maintains the position that Hopper
effectively distanced himself from everyone else through his desolate, removed,
pieces. Hopper, Bent explains, achieves his desired effect in a number of ways,
which includes putting distance between his subjects, depicting people whose
body language reflects their isolation, and “interrupting” a potential subject by
placing another element, such as a railroad track, in front.
Bent also delves into Hopper’s use
of windows and light, explaining the power they hold in changing the mood of
the piece. He describes light at one point as a deity; to Bent, a ray of
sunshine in one of Hopper’s pieces does more than simply brighten colors, it is
a force, a presence.
Bent seems to have written this
essay to expose the greatness of Edward Hopper, to share his individualism with
the world. His audience, then, would probably be composed of museumgoers,
aspiring artists, and people searching for a new obsession. I believe Bent was
successful in achieving his purpose, as I am certainly intrigued by Hopper’s
paintings despite never seeing them. I would accredit this to Bent, who used
interesting theoretical scenes to deliver his point. For example, he imagined
Hopper witnessing a meteorite crashing into a city, taking note only of the
bleached-out color of the buildings.
Accompanied by his effective use of
literary techniques is his experience in art criticism, with artists ranging
from Michelangelo to Monet to Bernini. He has even painted himself; a series
entitled “Still Life with 10,000 Cigarette Butts”, in which he paints a variety
of objects amid a sea of cigarettes from an aerial perspective. Interestingly,
this series was meant to evoke a feeling of isolation and staticity, two
feelings Hopper strived to illustrate.
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| Room in New York by Edward Hopper. It is not hard to see the separation that exists between the two despite the physical distance between them. Source: http://www.canvasreplicas.com/images/Room%20in%20New%20York%20Edward%20Hopper.jpg |
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