Edward Hopper Drawings at the Whitney and Engagement in Museums with Technology

Self-Portrait, 1945

Going to museums to view art is a lot of work these days involving a bevvy of options that are available to anyone with the right tools and a minimal understanding of social media. Which is why I was thinking about a post I had read in Daydream Tourist, "Why you can't take photos in museums?", while I was walking around the Hopper Drawing Exhibit at the Whitney Museum of Art two weeks ago. I was looking, thinking, tweeting and taking pictures... as well as remembering a time when all I had to be concerned with while visiting a museum was the audio-guide - if they had one available or not. Granted we didn't have user-friendly smartphones nor any kind of social media to post those photographs on back then, I couldn't help but be aware of all that I allowed to intrude into my private time with art today. What did I think of all of this at the end of the day is something we'll find out together by the end of this post...

Jo Hopper, 1945-50

My Mother, c. 1920

I have always found Hopper's work speaks to me like no other artist's, leaving me with an impression of familiarity where I could read into his works a story similar to my own on some level. So, I was really excited about viewing his drawings, hoping to get a glimpse into his creative process... and maybe even glean some insight into what made him tick?

Edward Hopper - The Painter of American Loneliness

Edward Hopper, Gas, 1940
(Whitney Museum of American Art, New York)
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _Gas_, 1940

My fascination with Edward Hopper began when I read a blogpost on Alberti's Window comparing Hopper's paintings to Gustave Caillebotte's, reasoning that they both worked within the themes of isolation and loneliness.  I got a chance to compare the two artist's work on my trip to Chicago and the argument seemed feasible.

Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942
(Art Institute of Chicago)

Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street:  Rainy Day, 1877
(Art Institute of Chicago)

Both artists were painting the urban landscape and the alienating nature of modernization.  When considering their paintings of the city, in both instances, a burgeoning city is the backdrop to individuals that are trying to exist within the new norms of modern life.

Edward Hopper, Seven A.M., 1948
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _Seven A.M._, 1948

There was an exhibit at the Whitney Museum in New York, that caught my attention and I finally got a chance to see it before it closed on Sunday.  Here, I was able garner what set Hopper apart from any other painter I knew.  Being one of the quintessential American icons,  his paintings seems to captures this country's soul.

Edward Hopper, Le bistro, 1909
(Whitney Museum of American Art)

When I stood before this painting though I felt like I was closer to the soul of the artist than the city. It seemed like the visualization of one of my own experiences, that of being an outsider in a foreign land.  It's nice but you can not be a part of it, only observe it.

Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _Le Bistro_ or _The Wine Shop_, 1909

Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning,
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _Early Sunday Morning_, 1930

Edward Hopper, New York Interior,
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _New York Interior_, 1921

Actually this painting reminded me of Edgar Degas' Interior

Edgar Degas, Interior,1868-1869
(Philadelphia Museum of Art)

Edward Hopper, The Sheridan Theater, 1937
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _The Sheridan Theatre_, 1937

Edward Hopper, Soir Bleu, 194
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _Soir Bleu_, 1914

Edward Hopper, A Woman In the Sun, 1961
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _A Woman in the Sun_, 1961

When I stood before this painting, I finally realized what seemed so familiar about Hopper's paintings, it was a landscape I knew really well.  It was the picture of the bone-chilling loneliness one can only feel in America, where there are beautiful vistas outside of your window, in front of your door but no sign of human life.  He had painted my America... For years, even as I refused to give in to the feeling of isolation, I was always going in search of the sun, first thing in the morning, to warm my soul.

Edward Hopper, Self-Portrait, 1925-30
Whitney Museum of American Art: Watch and Listen: Audio Guides: Edward Hopper, _Self-Portrait_, 1925–30

http://whitney.org/Exhibitions/ModernLife