Project 2| Painting and Narrative

Narrative

"A retreat for a journalistic photographer who pursues inner peace and seeks to escape the city. "

Ambience of Room and Narrative:

The inspiration for the journalistic photographer arises by stepping into the perspective of Edward Hopper who framed the woman in her bedroom with his own psychological state and emotions. The ambience of the Summer Interior is transformed into the introverted photographer who used his lens to capture his dejection and desire for escape in photos. Photography is literally drawing with light. The retreat is a tranquil and private space that provides the busy photographer with a chance to search for his true self, contemplate and refresh himself in solitude.

Site

In a pine-topped forest with a pond nearby, Old Chatham, New York

In summer, the tree leaves take on a deep hue, absorbing the sunlight. The lawn in shade frames the trees at the end of the pond catching the low rays of the sun.

In winter, the sky is deep blue, the bottom of the woods lost in darkness as the noon sun casts long shadows over the lawn and pond. The contrasts are intense.

Old Chatham in Summer

Old Chatham in Winter

Painting Summer Interior (1909) by Edward Hopper

About the painting:

It is the first of a long series of paintings of women in bedrooms by Hopper who liked to introduce narrative ambiguity to his works. It is a private scene of a semi-nude woman crouched by the bed feeling unsettled and contemplating. She faced backward to the windows which could be the source of light and buried herself into her own world. Unlike other artists who painted the female nude to glorify the female form and to highlight female eroticism, Hopper's nude was a solitary woman who was psychologically exposed. Her loneliness, regret, boredom, and resignation filled the dark small bedroom. Hopper turned light into an interesting object. The long rectangle light that casts on the floor is sharp and bright, in contrast to the emotions of the woman. Like a photograph, Hopper captured the intimate moment by stealth; the character did not seem to know she was being observed.

Hopper stated “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life of the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world. The inner life of a human being is a vast and varied realm.”