We were "back east" last weekend, visited Eric's family in old Cambridge and - for the real adventure - attended his 20th high school reunion. It's crazy that it's been 20 years since he graduated, especially since we're only, like, 24 years old! Pays to be a child prodigy.
It was a very hectic weekend, but the art gods were kind to me and carved out some time for me to visit the Edward Hopper exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Yes, I actually had some time alone on Monday, and the MFA is actually open on Mondays. Thank you, art gods! I love the MFA - they always have some fantastic, comprehensive exhibitions, but it's not such a monstrous, monolithic institution that you feel like you just ran the Boston Marathon. And their audio tours are always worth the few extra bucks; I leave there feeling like I just took a really interesting and understandable class. One without tests.
So, the Hopper exhibition was no exception. Totally comprehensive, truly fascinating, and completely stimulating. I've been a Hopper fan for years, and not just because of the cheeky repros of his infamous painting, "Nighthawks." But his work is the kind that you like, but you're not sure why. They are so calm and moody, but inexplicably pack a real punch. The show illuminates the ideas behind his earlier work (popularizing lighthouses as romantic beacons and Victorian houses during a time of ultra-sleek deco). But it's his paintings of people, particularly women, that I really love. I could stare at this image, "Chop Suey," for hours. Two sets of two people sit at tables in a Chinese restaurant, but there is no food on the tables, and no apparent conversation going on. What are they thinking? Where are they going from here? Are they happy? Pensive? Content?
The audio tour explained that the year this was painted, 1929, was very different, fashion-wise, than just a couple years earlier, when no proper lady would be seen dressed like the gal in the green sweater. The lip stick, the rouge, the eye shadow, the tight clothing...this was a sign of the times, the onset of liberalization in women's clothing (and rights), and this pretty girl is the epitome of a 1929 hipster. I love how she looks; confident, smart, modern. The painting's acidic colors and streaming daylight are gorgeous, and pure Hopper.
Total shout out to the MFA's web site. They've incorporated several interactive components to the Hopper pages, including making images available for download as desktop images, a slide show of Hopper's iconic work, and a really FANTASTIC slide show of his sketchbooks. This is such a revolution, this internet thing-a-majig, for museums. You can really benefit from the MFA's hard work in researching and documenting Hopper, even if you can't make it to Beantown. The show runs through August 19.
2 comments:
How spectacular! And those interactive features on the museum's site were really cool. Why aren't museums doing more of this! It's a great way to share the art love with everyone.
p.s. God bless Flash.
As my Boston days are far far behind me these days, thank you for Hopper tour - I was in need of some reflection and beauty tonight.
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