Hopper, Edward (1882-1967). American painter, active mainly in New York.
正在整理之前去英國遊學所寫的文章，感覺好特別，因為真不相信我曾經這麼會寫...
To understand people's minds, the best way is probably to observe them when they are alone because the real characteristics of people are usually hidden behind a mask worn in front of a crowd. As they reading, thinking, or looking for something, the expressions on their faces may tell us the truths. Edward Hopper, the modern artist of the twentieth century, created such a particular atmosphere to illustrate the interior world of people by using the medium of painting.
Hopper's paintings are sometimes thought to have a voyeuristic quality. But it could rather be said that he shared the techniques and take the feeling of the sinema than that he showed a sense of voyeurism. He wanted to tell us the stories of his subjects via different view angles, different light changes, and different stage scenes. The Big Apple does possess such kinds of conditions to let Hopper thoroughly develop his talent because the big city has been playing a main role in the world ever since America became a powerful country. Accompanying the occurrence of the two world wars and the feminist movement, there was a great influence on the thinking of both males and females in terms of material as well as spiritual life. A huge city with a relatively small population, this strong contrast produced a weird phenomenon that preoccupied Hopper's mind. His aloof character was never an obstacle to his career, on the contrary, it became a sharp tool of his. Without verbal communication, he observed the world with his eyes and imagination.
Like a conductor using a script to shoot a film, Hopper used detailed studies to created his paintings. His former commercial illustration training and three trips to Europe formed the basis of his painting. After coming back from Paris, he gradually created the painting style purely his own - the feeling of loneliness, desolation, and the stagnation of city line. It is probably that Hopper tried to compose a series of stories as if in "Morning Sun" and "Automat", the static images captured the expressions on two women's faces which depict not only a sense of weariness, but also immersionin reverie. He made viewers easily find out the subjects, enter their mind, even think what they are thinking. In "Nighthawks", he simplified the scene to make the restaurant bigger. Besides the four people inside the restaurant, no on appeares on the street outside. Through the glass, viewers can watch an action taking place in the small space and feel a sense of vacuity slowly depicted.
The glass or the window is another key point in Hopper's painting. The subjects usually look out from the windows or are looked at through the window or the glass. Since people spend more and more time working in houses, they can only imagine the outside world through the window. If there were no window, not only the sunlight could not illuminate the houses, but also people's mind would be sealed in narrow spaces. However, although the glass is transparent, the frame seems like an invisible wall isolating human beings and the nature. The thirst for freedom and relaxation shown in, for example, "Cape Cod Morning" became a motif Hopper wanted to express. Moreover, Hopper inherited the characteristic of impressionism - the operation of light, dramatically exploiting sun and artificial light in his paintings. The light and the shade created different atmospheres by directly projecting or indirectly reflecting such as in "Automat", the lonely woman is against a somber light. At the same time, Hopper exploited an effect of spotlight in the evening scenes to focus on his subjects such as in "Nighthawks" or "Night Windows". It is believed that he knew the importance of light when he wanted to express a real world because of the real colours coming from the real light. Different from the impressionism, his pictures look more like stage photos, more engaging and more meaningful.
Comparing with the famous British photographer in the twentieth century, Bill Brandt, they used different ways to express the same motif - lifestyles of human beings. Hopper chose painting but not photography, suppose as if conductors, he created is own scenes and his own actors to perform a real world that he observed with his intensive arrangement and consideration. His insistence on the expression of art finally acquired a popular acclaim.
留言列表
