Edward Hopper is one of my favorite artists. I've never been good at describing why I'm drawn to certain things, so it's hard for me to explain why I love certain artists. "Night Hawks" was the first Edward Hopper painting I'd ever seen, or at least noticed. It drew my eye straight to the woman in red. Why? There is something so classic and feminine about the style back then that I just love. I love the hats the men wore. People really took the time to look classy and modest back then, and I wish it were the same way now.
Another thing is the lighting he uses. I just...well, I like it :) (see? I stink)
I was going through some old papers and found a poem I wrote in my senior creative writing class. We were asked to pick a favorite piece of art and write about it. I was really excited because, well, I love art (duh). Like I said, I don't think I have a talent with words, but I thought this was a pretty cool poem I ended up with about this particular painting:
Lonely Streets
Green light engulfed the small bar
Yellow walls and red lips
Stood out among the lonely streets
Liquid cascaded and silver machines hummed
A man sat across the counter
His back turned towards the silent city
Waiting for a brighter day
His heart filled with pity
Eyes on the fiery red head
Across the room
And another one I wrote when I became obsessed with the ocean and orca whales (still am) and decided to write a poem about what the sea looked like through my eyes.
The black mystic fog
Envelops the slithering bodies
Flying through a liquid outer space
Under granite boulders
Lie sleeping bellies
And cautious tails slyly glide above
Eyes protrude from grainy sand
They blink, and then blink once more
Sand slides off as the flat body soars from its hideout
To seek the world above
*good times*
2 comments:
I love your Hopper poem! I love this painting too. One of the reasons I like Hopper is because he uses his space so effectively. There is a lot of open space in this composition (i.e. the large window, the wide sidewalk, the empty counter and street), and I think that adds to the painting's feeling of loneliness. It's kind of like the space between objects is indicative of the loneliness and (metaphorical) space between the people sitting at the counter.
P.S. I like the lighting too. I love the contrast of the lighted, inside walls against the dark molding over the outside of the window. And I also love that the light for the whole painting comes from inside. The street has no streetlamps - instead it's lit up by the light that pours out of the restaurant window.
Okay...sorry for the tangent. It's hard to get an art historian to shut up once someone starts to talk about art!
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