My first impression as I scrolled down to this picture was of the crucifixion, with the upper flower being Christ's thorn-crowned head hanging down.
Posted on 07/11/2005 5:04:13 AM PDT by Republicanprofessor
Art ping.
Let Sam Cree or I know if you want on or off this list.
Art Appreciation/Education ping.
Let me know if you want on or off this ping list.
I noticed that you enjoyed Liz's art pings.
Let me know if you want to be added to one or both of the other ping lists (art ping: general art articles; or art appreciation/education lists for these kind of "lectures.")
I look forward to your piece on Pollock. I saw the movie with Ed Harris. It was excellent and I urge everyone to rent it. It's not a romanticization of an artist's life like the movie depictions of Toulouse-Lautrec or other painters we've seen in the past. Very nitty-gritty, but gripping. Harris gives a great performance.
Leni
I just love the works of Thomas Hart Benton. I'm also a big fan also of the WPA artists whose works depicted everyday people going about their lives. Thanks for the class, Professor.
My first impression as I scrolled down to this picture was of the crucifixion, with the upper flower being Christ's thorn-crowned head hanging down.
Your series has been fun and informative. I appreciate the effort.
As I scrolled down through the images and saw the Robert Henri painting, I thought that the work of Edward Hopper would pop up (Hopper was a student of Henri in NY).
Even though he studied for several years in Paris during the time of Picasso and Matisse, Hopper returned to New York to create some quintessentially American paintings. Nighthawks comes to mind.
Hopper's cultural influnce was found manifest in the film noir genre and even Hitchcock's Psycho.
Oh, and he was a staunch conservative as well (this is FreeRepublic after all).
One minor grammatical quibble - Georgia O’Keeffe is not "infamous, of course, for her flower images." O'Keefe is not infamous at all. She's famous for her flower images.
There's a painter in Nashville Indiana (I think) Carson? Carstairs? Something like that, who does work similar to Sheelr. Starts with pen and ink and then colors the design. Very good looking pictures, lots of Amish type scenes and farm /city scenes from 1910's or 20's.
I remember a funny point from the bonus part of the film. Ed Harris said that the times when he was painting like Pollock were interesting. The times he thought the painting turned out good looked poor on the film; and the times the painting was horrible was the time the filming of the painting went well. Then, if you add in the Hans Namuth filming of Pollock, and his stopping Pollock mid-stream (so to speak), you get several different levels to film and reality.
I was leary of this film at first. I thought I'd see Ed Harris, and not Pollock, through the whole thing. I hate films on art when it seems so faked. But in the first few seconds, Harris got this look on his face that was exactly like Pollock. I was sucked in immediately and impressed by the entire film.
That's why I love abstraction. The visual forms work on so many different levels.
I don't know how traditionally religious O'Keeffe was, but who knows what lurks at our subconscious. I certainly feel a spiritual power in all these artists' works, but it is not one linked to traditional religion. It is one that raises our spirits and connect us to the spirit in nature.
Infamous, famous. Right you are. I think there is another grammatical error in there too, but I couldn't find it again to fix it before I posted the essay.
Hopper Summertime 1943 and Sunday Morning and Early Sunday Morning 1930
She seems to be waiting for someone, but I don't think it's the guy in the next painting (which is almost a sequel to the more famous--not infamous--Early Sunday Morning). The date on Summertime, 1943, may suggest that most of the men are away at war. And, in regard to Early Sunday Morning, there used to be a figure in one of the upper apartment windows, but he painted it out. Maybe it was lonely enough without the figure?
The sense of loneliness that I feel in Hopper's work, is often mitigated by the beautiful light therein. But his people seem so isolated and alone. I guess that was his vision of the human existence. (And he was married too. His wife Jo was often the model for the nudes in his works, even when she was close to 70 and the figures in the paintings seemed much younger.)
I think I used that word because many critics saw something X-rated in her flower images. I don't know if I need to get much more explicit on FR about that.
Black Iris 1926
I like his work too, probably more so since I learned that he usually combines different photos of the scene into the final painting.
I am less impressed with the artists who project a slide onto their canvas and then paint from that.
I've heard that, but it always seemed a stretch to me. The same bluenoses who saw gay propaganda in Batman & Robin.... ;)
Still, not sure that rises to the level of infamy. A minor quibble, to be sure, and not to in any way detract from your lectures. Thanks again!
Hopper is one of my favorites too. I started liking him after seeing a painting, "Groundswell," on one of Republican Professor's art ed threads.
I even printed it out from my computer so I could show it around in awe.
Made the mistake of showing it to my sister in law the other day, who pronounced it crap, saying that her 26 year old son in law is better. Actually her son in law is a talented amateur artist - who knows what he could become if he devoted himself to art? But there have not been many artists on Hoppers level.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.