Edward Hopper's Nighthawks is one of my favorite paintings. I may have first seen it while playing Masterpiece, a Parker Brothers game that came out in the 1970s. Even though the picture depicts a scene from the 1940s, the painting reminds me of a late night scene from my own childhood. I grew up in Oakland, California in the 1960s. Nighthawks, like all the artwork found in the Masterpiece game, is from the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago. I've never been to the museum, but any collection that includes the works of Renoir, Lautrec, Van Gogh, Seurat, and Cézanne, to name but a few, is okay by me. I do have a fondness for the Impressionists and the Post Impressionist.
In the film, Pennies from Heaven, the production designers, brought to life several of Hopper's paintings. Based on a television play by Dennis Potter, Pennies from Heaven is a great example of a film loved by some and misunderstood (and hated) by most. Besides bringing to life Hopper's paintings, the film also draws on the photography of Walker Evans and others who invented the iconography of America in the 1930s.
As a photographer, I have always been drawn to the works of documentary photographers like Evans, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Atget, and Arbus. I have also been drawn to the commercial works of Avedon, Bert Stern, Annie Leibowitz, Mary Ellen Marks, Karsh, and George Hurrell; photographers who tell a story.
Images are powerful, and if you haven't figured it out already, the images that have had the greatest affect on me are those that are projected on a movie screen, especially images accompanied by music. That's why musicals and works by directors like Kubrick, Hitchcock, Curtiz, Minelli, Altman, Truffaut, Fellini, Bergman, Kurosawa and Woody Allen are among my favorites. These are directors who work with great cinematographers and production designers.Okay, I'm now in the mood to appreciate art...and maybe even a little commerce. More later. In the meantime, enjoy this music video, it's very artistic...
Kylie Minogue - 'Come into my world' music video
11 comments:
I don't recognize any of the names! I need to do some research. The only one I knew was Annie Leibowitz, only because she's been all over the TV lately due to Miley Cyrus. I looked into some of her work after seeing the media make a big deal about it and thought she actually does beautiful photography. Oh & that's a great video too, so much going on in the background while she's singing her song.
Annie Leibowitz is quite a character. Her Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair covers defined celebrity for quite a few years. I'll keep the videos coming.
Nice to meet another movie fan! What is your favorite Hitchcock and Kurosawa film? They're two of my favorite directors too. I like Vertigo and Rebecca, and then Ikiru and Seven Samuri. Okay I know this is an ART appreciation class and not movie appreciation, but aren't movies basically moving art? They still have composition, light and dark contrast, and create a emotional reaction for the viewer. Do you think movie poster art is underrated?
Favorite Hitchcock is Vertigo. Rebecca was my father's favorite film of all time, but as far as romantic Hitch, I like Notorious and To Catch a Thief. Kurosawa...Seven Samurai and Ikiru...beautful images, great story telling. Some films are art. Best article on the subject is Pauline Kael's "Trash, Art and the Movies". Rudolf Arnheim wrote a great book called Film as Art. The Sierra College library in Rocklin has a great collection of movie books that doesn't seem to be getting used much these days due to the Internet. There are several books there that argue the point that film is art. As for movie posters, I was thinking about doing a paper on a film poster artist. My father and mother were movie theatre manager, so movie posters have always been a large part of my personal art collection.
I love movie posters. I'll check out those books, they sound really interesting!
Hi Mike,
Wow, you're really getting the hang of this blog this very quickly! The Chicago Art Institute is AMAZING. I'm actually headed there in June so I'll take a peek at the Hopper painting in your honor. I see the dialogue in the comments about Annie Leibovitz. She has a show in San Francisco right now at the Palace of Legion and Honor through May 25. Perhaps you'd like to make a trip to fulfill your Art Visit.
Michelle
Mike,
It looks as though I am not the only one that likes your blog. I just wanted to let you know that I worked at the Art Istitute in Sacramento for a year or so. I know the complete history and also was able to vist all the differnt schools that produced these amzaing art pieces and medias. Nice to meet you.
I don't think I'll be able to get to San Francisco and see the Annie Leibovitz exhibit before it closes. But there is a museum visit in my future.
Nice to meet you too, Kendra. The pictures of your kids on your blog are just as nice as the art you have chosen to incorporate.
Hi,
Congratulations on completing your AA! I loved your photographs! i am just getting familiar with the blog, etc. This is my 1st Art class and as much as I like Art, I suppose that it's not my strength..But I plan to learn and have fun with it!!
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