In this class session we discussed a particularly interesting topic found in Ways of Seeing, and that is the image of Men vs. Women. We determined from looking at a picture of Robert de Niro, that a man is capable, and always has been, of presenting himself in whichever way he chooses to the public without facing harsh judgement or discrimination. De Niro looked scruffy and tough, with slightly disheveled hair, and attire more on the casual side although he was attending an important event. Despite his appearance, no one mistook him for a sloppy man or a bum, because of his status in society. However, a woman celebrity would not slide by unnoticed had she not been looking the best she could at an important public event. This is an example of the prejudice society holds and the its difference in judgement towards men and women. We then discussed style and what it means to have style as an artist. Style in art often represents what is useful and popular in a time period. On a more personal level, style acts as a reflection of personality. Edward Hopper has a particular style that I greatly enjoy. I view his style to be centered on America and her values, tradition and culture. He painted many pictures while America was at war, and its people in unity, and also during periods of immigration. In this era many people came to America in search of the American dream, and cities were overflowing with middle to low class workers. This is possible inspiration for many paintings including “Nighthawks”. In his painting “American Landscape”, he captures an image of an American farm very well. It is most likely located in middle, rural America. The work has a dreary tone to it, as it lacks color and is overcast with lots of black, possibly to say he is not very fond of farm life. What is incredible about the picture is its timelessness. There is no telling when the image was created, because the same scenery could exist today. The painting “New York Interior” does a fantastic job capturing the essence of a classic city home. I imagine the girl in the work to be a dancer based on her muscularity. It is possible she just returned home from a long night of work representing the theme of the working woman, which can also be seen in Nighthawks. Edward Hopper’s style is centered around realism and America and its people. I think he is a strong supporter of the working class since he himself belonged to it for a period of time, and he embodies that support in his work.
Mona Lisa and Nighthawks
In class on Monday we observed and discussed two paintings; the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. Nighthawks reached out to me in a peculiar way. At a glance it appears to be a snapshot of an ordinary diner or bar, but it tells a deeper story. It tells one of struggle, exhaustion, and loneliness, yet radiates a sense of comfort and companionship in the lonely night. The painting is set in a dark deserted street with four characters. Each one has their obvious differences but also overwhelming similarities. They all seem strung out, particularly the man sitting alone and the bartender. The bartender appears to have been working for years behind that counter, and is used to spending time with lonely souls such the single man. They probably stopped in for a bite to eat and some coffee after a grueling day of work. The picture represents an American theme to me. That theme is the struggle of the working class to make a living in the city. The image shows these working class people taking an opportunity to relax, even at odd hours of the night. I believe the painting is titled “Nighthawks” because of the characters who are seizing the night, compared to a hawk that seizes its prey. Mona Lisa is a very interesting painting. I was never too impressed by it until this year, when we began to look deeper into art, beginning with our night at the museum, through Ways of Seeing, and in this class. It is a puzzling work of art to say the least. From the woman’s subtle facial expressions and piercing gaze, to the extravagant landscape in the background. The background is very appealing to me. It is a natural environment which appears to be a river surrounded by mountain ranges and a quarry. The woman’s eyes are the focal point of the picture which stare right back at you. It is the first thing you notice and I find it incredible in the way the artist captured such realism. The portrait holds a mysterious essence that is difficult to pinpoint, given its normality.
Wednesday – Edward Hopper’s Style
In class on Wednesday, we first discussed the idea of gaze. By definition, it means to be looking at something and thinking about it. For example, the Mona Lisa knows someone is looking at it because the eyes are gazing at us, the spectators. I think the smirk indicates that the gaze is reciprocated. The whole notion of gaze becomes one with the painting. Shortly after discussing that, Professor Kahan brought up the connection between Ways of Seeing, with how one views various pictures and other forms of artwork. We first took a look at a picture resembling Robert De Niro, and how we collectively ascribe power to him because just of the man he is. But, if all of his physical attributes such as: messy hair and scraggly beard were attached to someone other than Robert De Niro; we would most definitely think of that person in a negative manner. The other piece of artwork we stumbled on in relation to gaze was the, Mona Lisa. From what I can see, her face is smooth, her hair is done with curls, and her dress looks like its made of silk, which represents her stature in society. In connection with the picture of Mr. De Niro, women always have to look presentable and they can’t do what Robert does appearance wise, without getting judged significantly. The next order of business was depicting Edward Hopper’s style in his twelve paintings. Style, in relation to fashion, identifies the time period it’s in and what was useful during that particular period. For example, in the Fall 2012 collection, a good portion of various clothing lines represent the military, because it’s a way of showing solidarity, and it epitomizes what exactly is going on in this span of time. I think Edward Hopper’s style has a definite duality, in the way that it pertains to both the past as well as the present. This is seen quite lucidly in his various works of art. In the first painting, American Landscape, a house is placed in the middle of a farm. Some elements that make it look frightening are the size of the cows in relation to the house, the dimensions are flattened out, and it looks as if this particular house is in the middle of nowhere. The way it is painted, doesn’t allow me to see the bottom of it because it is below the train tracks. This artwork looks like it is part of the United States and can represent early America as well as present day. This idea flows coherently in Mr. Hopper’s style because all his paintings are universal and timeless. In his next painting, New York Interior there is a fireplace and painting in the picture, which can clearly relate to the early 1900s and the 21st century. The clock on the mantel, the ridges in the wood, and the columns are all decorative tools used to depict his style as it relates to classicism. I think, the woman in the painting is probably a dancer or maybe works in a dance hall. The clothes she is wearing leads me to conceive the notion that she could be a ballerina or a wealthy woman who just came back from a ball, and is taking off her heals and massaging her exhausted feet. In the third painting by Edward Hopper, Night Shadows a cartoonish image immediately pops into my head when I first laid my eyes on it. Therefore, from the start, the style embodies a present day take on cartoon shows. It looks as if the person is in a hurry due to his abnormally large strides and the tall lamppost causing a shadow. I think these entire paintings have another side to Edward Hopper’s style, which happens to be the mysterious factor. In American Landscape, New York Interior, and Night Shadows there are many elements in the painting that enable me to formulate questions in my head consisting of: how, why, and what is trying to be actually depicted. Therefore, I presume that the artist’s style exemplifies the duality of the past and present (universality), and the enigmatic side, in relation to the three works of art described.
Stephanie Solanki, Seminar 9/10/12
Today in class we looked at the Mona Lisa. We actually gazed at the Mona Lisa and the background. We said in class how it looks like a desert, and a scary forest. I thought it looked like a mix of different landscapes, which adds to the fact that the painting is so dynamic and deep. Most people in the class saw different things, and very seldom were too opinions exactly alike. I think that is the allure of the class, that we can all experience art in New York but we all experience it in different ways. I think it’s interesting that the the background is so complex, yet I haven’t noticed it since before looking at it in class.
I think it’s interesting and very telling of the time period that Mona Lisa is painted with perfect skin, hair, and clothing. I think that maybe this woman was a patron of Da Vinci’s, so he was forced to idealize her. This also shows that the Renaissance woman was ideal and perfect.
It’s interesting that this painting is part of the “Big Three” most famous paintings. I like that it’s so simple at first glance, but one I start gazing at it I see so much more. I notice the oval patterns in the painting, and I now see a connection with the “Last Supper” in which Da Vinci painted many triangles.
This same principle applies with Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. I learned how to see patterns in paintings like the rectangles on the building in the back, and the rectangular shape of the diner itself. I now see the language of painting, that there are patterns and different ways of expressing an idea.
A connection I thought of between the two paintings is the use of light. The background in the “Mona Lisa” is darker than her face and skin, which is done on purpose to draw attention to the face. The same thing is done in “Nighthawks” with the woman in red, because the painting is done so that it seems that the lighting fixture is directly on top of her. It really works to grab attention and make that portion of the painting stand out more.
Edward Hopper’s Style: 9/12/12
In today’s Seminar class, we first discussed the argument Men vs. Women, in relation to how they are viewed in society and the different standards men and women are held to. Men seem to be given much more leniency when observing their appearance, especially if the person in question is seen in a certain light and has a title or persona attached to him or her. Take Robert DeNiro as an example. We viewed a photo of him at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and I noticed aspects of his appearance that I had never really taken note of before. His face showed signs of aging, his hair was long and wavy, and while he was dressed presentably, he didn’t appear to be overly dressed for the event. In our society, because he is a celebrity, and this is his style, it is acceptable for him to be seen in public in this manner. A woman who appeared in public in a similar fashion would not be respected in the same way and would most likely be frowned upon. I had never thought about appearance in such detail before, but after examining Robert DeNiro and The Mona Lisa (which are obviously two totally separate ends of the spectrum), I realized that it is much more socially acceptable for a man to be seen in a style such as Robert DeNiro’s, whereas a woman, whether in the age of Mona Lisa or today, is always expected to be in her best attire and looking more than simply presentable.
This subject of style was then related to artists, most specifically to the artist Edward Hopper. We looked at 12 of Edward Hopper’s paintings that are on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Many of Hopper’s paintings are realistic and universal, relatable at many different levels of society. The first painting we looked at, American Landscape, depicted a house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farm animals and grass. Such a scene is not unlikely to find in America, even today. It was probably more common in the 1900’s, but in certain areas of the country today, you could still find abandoned-looking houses, surrounded by forest, wheat, and animals, and it is a common way of life for some people. In his 1921 painting, New York Interior, we saw a young girl, most likely a ballerina, sitting in her bedroom, possibly sewing a piece of clothing. The bedroom consisted of a bed, painting, door, and a fireplace. Most of us noticed the fireplace right away, and commented on the fact that it is not uncommon to find a fireplace in people’s houses, even today. The fireplace appeared to be classic, and very in touch with the scene. There was nothing very out of the ordinary about the painting, and it depicted easy identifiable objects and actions. One of the final paintings that we discussed in detail was Hopper’s painting, Self Portrait,1925-1930. This painting depicted a man, dressed casually yet presentably, with a look on his face that seemed to express puzzlement or curiosity. He was alone, looking at something that was not shown in the painting, off to the side. His mannerisms and appearance was similar to that of Robert DeNiro, which we had discussed earlier in the class. His clothing was slightly wrinkled, and he seemed to give off the persona that he was “just another guy, like everybody else.” The analysis of this painting brought us back to the original question of, “What is Edward Hopper’s style?”
I think Hopper’s style has very much to do with realism and everyday life. Even in Hopper’s other paintings that we observed, Night Shadows, East Side Interior, Early Sunday Morning, and Seven AM, I think there are aspects in each of those paintings that people can relate to. For example, in Night Shadows, anybody walking down a deserted street late at night will most likely be walking briskly and quietly, just hoping to make it from Point A to Point B safely and without any disruptions. Hopper’s style seems to be about creating depictions that are universal, that can be easily seen and related to during any time period and in any location. I really enjoyed looking at and analyzing Hopper’s paintings and choosing the realistic and common aspects that could be found in each of them, things I could relate to and understand. I think looking at his art and analyzing it helps to give me a deeper appreciation for artists and the time they put in to creating their own unique works of art.
Edward Hopper’s style of Art
Today in class, we viewed various paintings from Edward Hopper’s vast collection in which he depicts real life moments. I immediately noticed that he didn’t do a lot of meddling with the scene itself. He painted it as it is but of course, as many painters do, highlighted focal points through his color choices and the contours of the image itself. While these scenes might not have occurred, the viewer can witness these images all around them and is therefore able to use the relatable surroundings to bring meaning to the focal point of the painting.
For instance, in the 1921 “Night Shadows”, the painting itself is very cartoonish but the scene itself is more than common within our society. The painting seems like a sketch but the use of the contrasting colors white and black brings immediate attention to what seems to be a very shady man in the middle of a vacant street corner. The contrasting color of white is used in between the darkness of black to isolate the man, making him the obvious focal point. He is overpowered by the shadow of a streetlight but again, the reason why the streetlight is towering over him is not because the streetlight is of impossible disproportional measures but because our position as the critic of this particular scene is from an elevated height. So again, Hopper sticks to reality which is by using contrasting colors and different angles to bring definition to what is already present. The familiarity the viewers have with the scenario of seeing a strange man during a strange time of day, allows us to conclude that their is an abnormality with his presence. We put his small stature, which is again because of our great height with the colors used and with the towering shadow of the streetlight that dominates him, to create a conclusion that this man might be up to no good. Our understanding that resulted from this familiarity allows us to further analyze his physical use of angles, shades, and his coloring style. I personally thought he seemed sketchy from his isolation so I figured Hopper intended to use the sketch style to hint at the focal point’s “sketchy” behavior.
Regardless of the reality of the purpose of the painting, Hopper was successful in his attempt at using his style of bringing the familiarity of everyday situations to allow the viewers to make a conclusion. We are therefore able to question the endless possibilities because of the fact that we are so familiar. If Hopper were to use scenarios present only in oblivion, our thoughts might be a little more scattered because we may not be as rational as we are with his works.
Hopper seems to love the idea of mystery and ambiguity. His very own portrait has an incredible number of shadows on his own face which shows that only in reality, is he present. The viewers all know what a portrait is but the meaning behind his own is that there might be more to him than just what you see. His obsession with ambiguity is very apparent since even something so simple as a two dimensional visual presentation of someone’s face is skewed into being something that has to be further analyzed. For him, there is what a viewer sees and then what the viewer understands, making him unique because he seems to find detail and story in something that most people wouldn’t think much about.
9/12/12
9/12/12
In today’s seminar, we talked about how we judge the people around us, especially based on gender. We looked at a photo of Robert De Niro, and judged his appearance and our feelings on it. We looked how he had scruffy facial hair, as if he knows who he is, and does’t feel the need to get all dressed up. We also examined his eyes, and how it has the “You talkin’ to me?” feel to it. But we concluded that he looks good, although if we saw a random person with his hair and scruff, we would classify them as a bum, rather than a famous actor. I realized that I do the same thing, when I see someone, I judge them based on their looks. Little do I know they could be a famous, rich musician possibly.
After this, we looked at the Mona Lisa yet again! We discussed how she was dressed nicely, sort of upper class. But after examining her appearance, especially her well kept hair and possibly silk clothes, we found that if she were to be as sloppy as Robert De Niro, we would condescend her.
Once we finished discussing how we judge the appearance, we talked about style. It made me wonder how I would define style. Personally, I feel that style is a representation of someone’s personality, and how they want them to envision them. That is in terms of dress, in terms of art, its a representation of the time they were in and they’re view on that period.
I got a lot from this lesson, we talked about other things after, but these were what I mainly extracted. From now on, I will truly look deeper into someone before judging their appearance.
9/10/12
9/10/12
Today in seminar, we looked at the Mona Lisa. This painting is arguably the most famous in the present world. It is famous for several reasons too, other than its beauty as a painting. The look she has is a sort of mysterious air about it. We discussed the contradiction of emotion between her cynical, mysterious eyes and the satisfied smirk she has on her face. Another thing we discussed was the background to this painting. While most people focus primarily on the lady in the painting, we focused on the background of it. The background is very interesting, to say the least. The scenery is a beautiful river along with mountains on the upper portion, but a desert in the lower portion. It has been concluded that this is a fictitious place, but is generally thought to be Italian. In my opinion, I am not a huge fan of the beauty, but I do appreciate the mysterious feel it has to it. It makes me wonder what she was looking at, or what was going on behind Da Vinci when he was painting it.
I know that these are my true feelings for they were what I experienced when I first looked at it, but I did not develop a true appreciation for its beauty after really looking at it. Its similar to a first impression of a person, for they are usually how you truly feel about someone.
It was a very interesting class, and I took a lot out of it, especially the way I judge a painting’s beauty as well as its hidden meanings.
Seminar 9/10
Today, we took time to analyze the background of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, and Hopper’s Nighthawk. Normally I do not analyze an entire painting. When I see a piece of artwork, my eyes skim the surface of it, and I move on. Today I learned that if you take time to look at a painting and analyze it, you begin to see many hidden meanings in the painting, and it becomes more complex. I also learned that when you look at a painting closely, you can also create a story from a painting.
So today it was interesting to look at art in a different way. I saw that in both of the paintings, there are many levels of complexity, and it is up to us as the viewers, to try and put ourselves in the mind of the artist and figure out different aspects of the painting. Some of these aspects are easy to decipher, while others are more difficult. For example, a simple aspect of Da Vinci’s work would be the river in the background. The river was painted there to bring the viewer’s attention to Mona Lisa’s eyes. When you look at her eyes, you find a more complex aspect of Da Vinci’s work to decipher because her eyes convey many different expressions.
In Hopper’s work, there are fewer complexes than Da Vinci’s work, and you can create more of a story from this work. The different emotions that you get from each of the people in the work, allows you to create a story out of it. For example, you get a sense of loneliness from the man that is separated from the rest of the people. Hopper sort of painted him into the darkness of the background, so he has a depressed feeling about him as well. Maybe he lost his job. Maybe he had a fight with his wife. Who knows? The story of the man is left open and for us to decide. The second man, and the bartender, seem to be deeply immersed in conversation and could be conversing about an important topic, since the painting was made in 1942, it could something about the war that is going on. We don’t know for sure, but that is the interesting part in analyzing an artwork like this, and the artist keeps us guessing.
Mona Lisa talk. 9-10
Today, I noticed when the class was trying to decide what the three focal points of the Mona Lisa were, the background of the painting was taken into account. I never would’ve thought to include the background into deciding focal points but it makes sense. Looking at the picture now, the three different terrains help the observer decide the focal points. The lighter background, which consists of the sky, the forest, and the river leading into the ocean, accompany the first focal point. The second focal point includes the dry, mysterious land our class spent some time describing earlier in the discussion. The third focal point doesn’t have much of a background but it is even darker, almost blending in with the subject’s clothes.
One student mentioned that the complexity of the background compliments the simplicity of the subject. Even though many people, including myself don’t find the subject “simple”, the observation ties into why this painting has stood the test of time. The background is indeed complex; different types of geological features, chaotic formations, and varying colors. This helps the viewer focus, unconsciously, on the subject’s face.
When we began talking about how to approach art, we discussed our favorite scenes from movies. More specifically, we spoke about how in movies, directors will make a slight pause after important lines to evoke an emotion in us the first few times we watch the movie. After watching the movie many times, this pause can become awkward. I realized this when I thought of one of my favorite films, the Breakfast Club. A memorable line from the movie is, “Screws fall out all the time, the world’s an imperfect place”, and there is a slight pause that is almost undetected except that an angry principal who was previously shouting wouldn’t make such a pause when dealing with a troublesome student talking back.
