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Hopper
Now in rich color, thirty of American painter Edward Hopper’s masterpieces with critiques from acclaimed poet Mark Strand. Strand deftly illuminates the work of the frequently misunderstood American painter, whose enigmatic paintings—of gas stations, storefronts, cafeterias, and hotel rooms—number among the most powerful of our time.
In brief but wonderfully compelling comments accompanying each painting, the elegant expressiveness of Strand’s language is put to the service of Hopper’s visual world. The result is a singularly illuminating presentation of the work of one of America’s best-known artists. Strand shows us how the formal elements of the paintings—geometrical shapes pointing beyond the canvas, light from unseen sources—locate the viewer, as he says, “in a virtual space where the influence and availability of feeling predominate.”
An unforgettable combination of prose and painting in their highest forms, this book is a must for poetry and art lovers alike.
In brief but wonderfully compelling comments accompanying each painting, the elegant expressiveness of Strand’s language is put to the service of Hopper’s visual world. The result is a singularly illuminating presentation of the work of one of America’s best-known artists. Strand shows us how the formal elements of the paintings—geometrical shapes pointing beyond the canvas, light from unseen sources—locate the viewer, as he says, “in a virtual space where the influence and availability of feeling predominate.”
An unforgettable combination of prose and painting in their highest forms, this book is a must for poetry and art lovers alike.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Mark Strand
164 books252 followersMark Strand was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, essayist, and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990. He was a professor of English at Columbia University and also taught at numerous other colleges and universities.
Strand also wrote children's books and art criticism, helped edit several poetry anthologies and translated Spanish poet Rafael Alberti.
He is survived by a son, a daughter and a sister.
Strand also wrote children's books and art criticism, helped edit several poetry anthologies and translated Spanish poet Rafael Alberti.
He is survived by a son, a daughter and a sister.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
August 29, 2018
En el prefacio de este libro, Strand advierte que su propósito es corregir las interpretaciones de la obra de Hopper propuestas por otros críticos y que él considera inexactas, ya que, según afirma, «La mayor parte de lo que se ha publicado parece eludir la pregunta fundamental de por qué gente tan distinta entre sí se siente conmovida de manera similar cuando se enfrenta a la obra de este pintor», y no puedo evitar preguntarme si esto no es, precisamente, lo que tienen en común todas las obras artísticas, sean de la disciplina que sean.
El arte, además de ser una manifestación de la experiencia humana entendida en sentido amplio, es, para mí, una forma de igualarnos: cuando contemplamos una obra de esta naturaleza, y pese a que nuestras impresiones pueden ser de lo más variadas, tenemos, en mayor o menor medida, la sensación de ser intérpretes a la vez que espectadores; no solo observamos, sino que además ejercemos un juicio crítico. Esto nos lleva a afirmar que, frente a él, no cabe adoptar un rol pasivo. Necesariamente la obra de arte nos interpela, y es casi imposible permanecer indiferentes a la forma en que esta viene a modificar el (nuestro) mundo. Y ahí se hace evidente lo que plantea Strand al principio: aunque nadie la analiza desde el mismo lugar (literal y figurativo), esas diferencias devienen superficiales cuando se resuelven en el sentimiento, en la reacción común que nos provoca. Ese fenómeno es el que nos acerca, y en eso reside, a mi entender, lo fascinante de las manifestaciones artísticas.
En el caso específico de Hopper, sus pinturas -que podrían resultar simples y hasta insulsas si no son analizadas con el debido detenimiento-, se tornan complejas a medida que uno va interiorizándose en ellas. Los matices, los gestos, la luz (obsesión confesa del artista), dicen tanto o más que el resultado final. Hopper es, ante todo, su sutileza.
Strand era poeta, y parece comprender ciertos aspectos de su obra que tal vez a cualquiera de nosotros se nos podrían escapar a primera vista, como cuando sostiene que «El tiempo que pasamos con un cuadro debe incluir -si tenemos consciencia de nosotros mismos- lo que este nos revela sobre la naturaleza de la continuidad. Los cuadros de Hopper no son vacíos en un rico proceso. Son todo lo que puede extraerse de un vacío en el que no se siente tanto la presencia de los acontecimientos de una vida como del tiempo que precede a esa vida, o que la sucede.» Por eso, y si bien el descubrimiento del gozo ante una obra de arte es una experiencia muy personal, creo que su libro constituye una buena guía para empezar a adentrarse en el universo que este pintor nos quiso regalar.
El arte, además de ser una manifestación de la experiencia humana entendida en sentido amplio, es, para mí, una forma de igualarnos: cuando contemplamos una obra de esta naturaleza, y pese a que nuestras impresiones pueden ser de lo más variadas, tenemos, en mayor o menor medida, la sensación de ser intérpretes a la vez que espectadores; no solo observamos, sino que además ejercemos un juicio crítico. Esto nos lleva a afirmar que, frente a él, no cabe adoptar un rol pasivo. Necesariamente la obra de arte nos interpela, y es casi imposible permanecer indiferentes a la forma en que esta viene a modificar el (nuestro) mundo. Y ahí se hace evidente lo que plantea Strand al principio: aunque nadie la analiza desde el mismo lugar (literal y figurativo), esas diferencias devienen superficiales cuando se resuelven en el sentimiento, en la reacción común que nos provoca. Ese fenómeno es el que nos acerca, y en eso reside, a mi entender, lo fascinante de las manifestaciones artísticas.
En el caso específico de Hopper, sus pinturas -que podrían resultar simples y hasta insulsas si no son analizadas con el debido detenimiento-, se tornan complejas a medida que uno va interiorizándose en ellas. Los matices, los gestos, la luz (obsesión confesa del artista), dicen tanto o más que el resultado final. Hopper es, ante todo, su sutileza.
Strand era poeta, y parece comprender ciertos aspectos de su obra que tal vez a cualquiera de nosotros se nos podrían escapar a primera vista, como cuando sostiene que «El tiempo que pasamos con un cuadro debe incluir -si tenemos consciencia de nosotros mismos- lo que este nos revela sobre la naturaleza de la continuidad. Los cuadros de Hopper no son vacíos en un rico proceso. Son todo lo que puede extraerse de un vacío en el que no se siente tanto la presencia de los acontecimientos de una vida como del tiempo que precede a esa vida, o que la sucede.» Por eso, y si bien el descubrimiento del gozo ante una obra de arte es una experiencia muy personal, creo que su libro constituye una buena guía para empezar a adentrarse en el universo que este pintor nos quiso regalar.
October 28, 2022
I liked this very much. Taking as his subject some of the most recognizable images in all art, Strand's proposal is relatively modest: to really look at these paintings & resist the received wisdom about them (that they function as statements on the modern condition & the social isolation of 20th century life, etc). He comes up with a lot of insightful observations about Hopper's representation of space & light, of underlying visual strategies running throughout the entire body of work; he also points out a lot of unexpected oddity within the ostensibly realistic depictions. I certainly don't want all art criticism to be this impressionistic, but it's also nice to be reminded of the value of just taking a long, hard look at something & grappling with it on its own terms.
"I have said Hopper's light is peculiar, that it does not seem to fill the air. Instead, it seems to adhere to walls & objects, almost as if it comes from them, emanating from their carefully conceived and distributed tones"
"I have said Hopper's light is peculiar, that it does not seem to fill the air. Instead, it seems to adhere to walls & objects, almost as if it comes from them, emanating from their carefully conceived and distributed tones"
March 1, 2014
Short, sharp and punctual. Edward Hopper is a true master. But when it comes to poets talking and writing about painters, paintings and art in general, I prefer Charles Baudelaire and Zbigniew Herbert.
January 11, 2021
In his interpretation of Edward Hoppers paintings Mark Strand starts with form. Strand doesn’t use form as the only factor in his interpretation of the first paintings (the first painting the probably best known „Nighthawks“, but the trapezoids are what catches him. Soon Strand moves on to include trees. For Strand, trees are the ultimate form of menace in some of Hoppers paintings. Opposing the dark menace are clean shop fronts and people looking calm in tranquil scenes. After the darkness comes the light. Many of the paintings in the rest of the book are interpreted with the light in mind. This is also the part where Strands conclusions coincide with mine. Also, from the part where the light begins to play an important role, the people in the paintings grow more important in Strands interpretations. This is also an interesting part of the book.
But ultimately there is a lack of depth and method in Strands interpretation. The interpretations are far too short to give a meaningful insight into Hoppers paintings. Which is a pity, because some interpretations are very interesting. What remains are the opportunity to enjoy the fabulous paintings of Edward Hopper, albeit these are included a somewhat questionable resolution which therefore makes it hard to catch the details in the paintings.
But ultimately there is a lack of depth and method in Strands interpretation. The interpretations are far too short to give a meaningful insight into Hoppers paintings. Which is a pity, because some interpretations are very interesting. What remains are the opportunity to enjoy the fabulous paintings of Edward Hopper, albeit these are included a somewhat questionable resolution which therefore makes it hard to catch the details in the paintings.
April 21, 2024
I'll never look at rectangles the same way again.
August 27, 2010
I attended a lecture a few years ago given by Mark Strand on Edward Hopper as Hopper's artwork was shown on a large screen. Since I enjoy Hopper's art & Strand's poetry, it was all very impressive & made for an enjoyable evening.
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January 5, 2019So good. Quite fun appreciating Hopper with a poet.
April 25, 2021
窥视都市孤独的隐形旁观者
Edward Hopper是美国很有代表性的画家。他的作品能被诗人Mark Strand用他特有的细腻和敏感如此认真地诠释出一本小书，可以想像是一种艺术上惺惺相惜的感情。
通篇30几幅画的分析我都蛮喜欢的，居然除了封面这幅著名的“rooms by the sea”。我几乎完全不同意Strand对这幅画的观感和诠释。在我看来，Hopper不多见地在画中抛开了人物，这个可以营造的故事氛围的元素，反而用他擅长的几何梯形线条，把局限的张力，一种不可到达的空虚感发挥得淋漓尽致。与他在其他画作中多用厚重的树林甚至关紧的门扉来表达难于穿越的拒绝，这幅画用了本应广袤无垠的大海。可是从这扇敞开的大门，真的可以到达大海吗？是，阳光可以进来，可是我们出不去。大自然就在那里，可是你无法抵达。Hopper风格里那种置身局外，默默看着某种深深孤独而无法言说的感觉，由于大海这个强有力的呼唤被阻断，反而得到了反差和加深。我觉得和Strand说的平和安好完全不同。
Edward Hopper是美国很有代表性的画家。他的作品能被诗人Mark Strand用他特有的细腻和敏感如此认真地诠释出一本小书，可以想像是一种艺术上惺惺相惜的感情。
通篇30几幅画的分析我都蛮喜欢的，居然除了封面这幅著名的“rooms by the sea”。我几乎完全不同意Strand对这幅画的观感和诠释。在我看来，Hopper不多见地在画中抛开了人物，这个可以营造的故事氛围的元素，反而用他擅长的几何梯形线条，把局限的张力，一种不可到达的空虚感发挥得淋漓尽致。与他在其他画作中多用厚重的树林甚至关紧的门扉来表达难于穿越的拒绝，这幅画用了本应广袤无垠的大海。可是从这扇敞开的大门，真的可以到达大海吗？是，阳光可以进来，可是我们出不去。大自然就在那里，可是你无法抵达。Hopper风格里那种置身局外，默默看着某种深深孤独而无法言说的感觉，由于大海这个强有力的呼唤被阻断，反而得到了反差和加深。我觉得和Strand说的平和安好完全不同。
August 15, 2024
I think if I had a big coffee table version of this book; it would be a 5 star situation. But I read it on a black and white e-reader, so it loses one star. I’m not taking notes on what’s fair and unfair on goodreads dot com
May 2, 2020
"Our distance from everything grows."
June 3, 2023
Bel libro da sfogliare, molto elegante, ma la lettura in sé non è molto interessante.
L'autore è un poeta americano molto affermato, che commenta brevemente vari quadri di Hopper. Vorrebbe forse essere esplicativo e (soprattutto) suggestivo allo stesso tempo, ma mi è sembrato quasi vacuo, a volte inutilmente arzigogolato e a tratti ripetitivo. Di certo non contiene riflessioni illuminanti.
Lettura veloce e gradevole, comunque.
L'autore è un poeta americano molto affermato, che commenta brevemente vari quadri di Hopper. Vorrebbe forse essere esplicativo e (soprattutto) suggestivo allo stesso tempo, ma mi è sembrato quasi vacuo, a volte inutilmente arzigogolato e a tratti ripetitivo. Di certo non contiene riflessioni illuminanti.
Lettura veloce e gradevole, comunque.
March 2, 2013
Thirty-two short chapters, each but the first and last a commentary on a single Hopper painting, or in rare cases, several paintings, comprise this engaging monograph by the American poet Mark Strand. He concentrates on form and composition and provides an insightful tour of Edward Hopper’s work. He finds that Hopper uses shapes in composition to convey the “satisfactions and misgivings” having to do with change in America. “Looking at Nighthawks,” he writes, “we are suspended between contradictory imperatives—one, governed by the trapezoid, that urges us forward, and the other, governed by the image of a light place in a dark city, that urges us to stay.” Strand mixes questions and observations, calls attentions to Hopper’s strange juxtapositions and anomalies. About “People in the Sun” he observes, “Nature and civilization almost appear to be staring each other down.” About “Western Motel,” a painting that shows a well-dressed woman sitting on a bed staring back at the viewer, the room’s wide window behind her, curtain fully drawn open, the nose of a car visible with low, abstractly rolling hills in the background, he first notes that the woman is the only one of Hopper’s people who looks back at the viewer—and this slim volume has scores of individuals in rooms, public places and exteriors all portrayed candidly looking everywhere but back at the viewer—then observes that it is as if the woman is posing for a photograph and the viewer is the photographer (and companion to the woman?). “We are the real reason everything seems to stop in the picture. We are the invisible force within the painting, and we are the occasion it honors. This may be the reason we do not feel excluded. We are not being urged on. The moment is ours.” Strand is thoughtful, observant, and personal in a way that is generous, sharing responses that connect with us and make his experience ours.
January 3, 2023
When I was a child what I saw of the world beyond my immediate neighborhood I saw from the backseat of my parents’ car. It was a world glimpsed in passing. It was still. It had its own life and did not know or care that I happened by at a particular time. Like the world of Hopper’s paintings, it did not return my gaze.
The vanishing point, like the end of the viewer’s journey or walk, is in an unreal and unrealizable place, somewhere on the canvas, out of the picture. The diner is an island of light distracting whoever might be walking by, in this case, ourselves from journey’s end. This distraction might be construed as salvation. For a vanishing point is not just where converging lines meet, it is also where we cease to be, the end of each of our individual journeys.... No one is there to share what we see, and no one has come before us. What we experience will be entirely ours. The exclusions of travel, along with our own sense of loss and our passing absence, will flourish. - on Nighthawks 1942
Hopper’s paintings are not vacancies in a rich ongoingness. They are all that can be gleaned from a vacancy that is shaded not so much by the events of a life lived as by the time before life and the time after. The shadow of dark hangs over them, making whatever narratives we construct around them seem sentimental and beside the point.
Everything in the house says, Go. Everything outside says, Where? All that the painting’s geometry primes us for is darkly denied us. The open door is not the innocent passage connecting inside and outside but a gesture paradoxically designed to keep us where we are. - on stairway 1949
a vision of the world without us; not merely a place that excludes us, but a place emptied of us. The light, now a faded yellow against sepia-toned walls, seems to be enacting the last stages of its transience, its own stark narrative coming to a close. - on rooms by the sea 1951 (Hobber's last great painting)
In Hopper’s paintings we can stare at the most familiar scenes and feel that they are essentially remote, even unknown. People look into space. They seem to be elsewhere, lost in a secrecy the paintings cannot disclose and we can only guess at. It is as if we were spectators at an event we were unable to name; we feel the presence of what is hidden, of what surely exists but is not revealed.
The vanishing point, like the end of the viewer’s journey or walk, is in an unreal and unrealizable place, somewhere on the canvas, out of the picture. The diner is an island of light distracting whoever might be walking by, in this case, ourselves from journey’s end. This distraction might be construed as salvation. For a vanishing point is not just where converging lines meet, it is also where we cease to be, the end of each of our individual journeys.... No one is there to share what we see, and no one has come before us. What we experience will be entirely ours. The exclusions of travel, along with our own sense of loss and our passing absence, will flourish. - on Nighthawks 1942
Hopper’s paintings are not vacancies in a rich ongoingness. They are all that can be gleaned from a vacancy that is shaded not so much by the events of a life lived as by the time before life and the time after. The shadow of dark hangs over them, making whatever narratives we construct around them seem sentimental and beside the point.
Everything in the house says, Go. Everything outside says, Where? All that the painting’s geometry primes us for is darkly denied us. The open door is not the innocent passage connecting inside and outside but a gesture paradoxically designed to keep us where we are. - on stairway 1949
a vision of the world without us; not merely a place that excludes us, but a place emptied of us. The light, now a faded yellow against sepia-toned walls, seems to be enacting the last stages of its transience, its own stark narrative coming to a close. - on rooms by the sea 1951 (Hobber's last great painting)
In Hopper’s paintings we can stare at the most familiar scenes and feel that they are essentially remote, even unknown. People look into space. They seem to be elsewhere, lost in a secrecy the paintings cannot disclose and we can only guess at. It is as if we were spectators at an event we were unable to name; we feel the presence of what is hidden, of what surely exists but is not revealed.
May 14, 2023
Una raccolta di opere di Edward Hopper accompagnate dalle didascalie di Mark Strand, l'ho letta in lingua originale e non ho trovato particolarmente poetico il testo come invece mi sarei aspettata. Il risultato finale mi ha ricordato maggiormente un libro scolastico in cui il testo illustra l'opera e in alcuni casi aggiunge commenti più generici sull'artista e sulle sue caratteristiche peculiari.
Ad ogni modo ho trovato il libro piacevole e interessante perché mi ha permesso di conoscere questo artista d'oltreoceano che dipingendo scene reali, relegabili al quotidiano, è riuscito a creare un mondo "altro".
Un elemento evidenziato in molti quadri è la tensione che si crea tra un ambiente interno ed uno esterno, tra quello che è successo e quello che succederà. Spesso le scene mostrano momenti di quiete, l'attesa di ciò che accadrà è pregna di significati e simboli.
Nei dipinti di Hopper possiamo fissare le scene più familiari e sentirle essenzialmente remote, persino sconosciute. La gente guarda nello spazio. Sembrano essere altrove, persi in un segreto che i dipinti non possono rivelare e che possiamo solo immaginare. È come se fossimo spettatori di un evento che non sappiamo nominare; sentiamo la presenza di ciò che è nascosto, di ciò che sicuramente esiste ma non si rivela. Formalizzando la privacy, dandole uno spazio dove può essere testimoniata senza essere violata. Le stanze di Hopper diventano tristi paradisi del desiderio. Vogliamo sapere di più su cosa succede dentro di loro, ma ovviamente non possiamo. Il silenzio che accompagna la nostra visione sembra aumentare, è inquietante, pesa come la solitudine.
Ad ogni modo ho trovato il libro piacevole e interessante perché mi ha permesso di conoscere questo artista d'oltreoceano che dipingendo scene reali, relegabili al quotidiano, è riuscito a creare un mondo "altro".
Un elemento evidenziato in molti quadri è la tensione che si crea tra un ambiente interno ed uno esterno, tra quello che è successo e quello che succederà. Spesso le scene mostrano momenti di quiete, l'attesa di ciò che accadrà è pregna di significati e simboli.
Nei dipinti di Hopper possiamo fissare le scene più familiari e sentirle essenzialmente remote, persino sconosciute. La gente guarda nello spazio. Sembrano essere altrove, persi in un segreto che i dipinti non possono rivelare e che possiamo solo immaginare. È come se fossimo spettatori di un evento che non sappiamo nominare; sentiamo la presenza di ciò che è nascosto, di ciò che sicuramente esiste ma non si rivela. Formalizzando la privacy, dandole uno spazio dove può essere testimoniata senza essere violata. Le stanze di Hopper diventano tristi paradisi del desiderio. Vogliamo sapere di più su cosa succede dentro di loro, ma ovviamente non possiamo. Il silenzio che accompagna la nostra visione sembra aumentare, è inquietante, pesa come la solitudine.
October 6, 2019
Hopper es un ensayo del poeta americano Mark Strand sobre la obra del icónico pintor, también americano, Edward Hopper.
Como está señalado en el prefacio, la intención del libro es abarcar la obra más destacada del pintor para esclarecer las opiniones y críticas sobre la misma, haciendo uso de un análisis pictórico sencillo y efectivo.
Es un libro muy lacónico e ilustrativo, de amena lectura para quienes no saben de pintura formalmente y son más que nada unos entusiastas (me incluyo, desde luego).
Hopper, junto con Munch y Bacon, es de mis pintores favoritos. Así que cada página se me hizo muy disfrutable y esclarecedora, aunque algunas opiniones del autor no me cuadraron del todo.
Creo que todos hemos visto alguna vez un Hopper, sobre todo Nighthawks, y si no, os invito, chavales, a buscar la obra de este genio. Puede parecer muy simple a primera vista, pero mientras más te sumerges en ella más grandes se vuelven los espacios, el vacío, el silencio, la soledad.
Como está señalado en el prefacio, la intención del libro es abarcar la obra más destacada del pintor para esclarecer las opiniones y críticas sobre la misma, haciendo uso de un análisis pictórico sencillo y efectivo.
Es un libro muy lacónico e ilustrativo, de amena lectura para quienes no saben de pintura formalmente y son más que nada unos entusiastas (me incluyo, desde luego).
Hopper, junto con Munch y Bacon, es de mis pintores favoritos. Así que cada página se me hizo muy disfrutable y esclarecedora, aunque algunas opiniones del autor no me cuadraron del todo.
Creo que todos hemos visto alguna vez un Hopper, sobre todo Nighthawks, y si no, os invito, chavales, a buscar la obra de este genio. Puede parecer muy simple a primera vista, pero mientras más te sumerges en ella más grandes se vuelven los espacios, el vacío, el silencio, la soledad.
September 30, 2020
In Hopper’s paintings we can stare at the most familiar scenes and feel that they are essentially remote, even unknown. People look into space. They seem to be elsewhere, lost in a secrecy the paintings cannot disclose and we can only guess at. It is as if we were spectators at an event we were unable to name; we feel the presence of what is hidden, of what surely exists but is not revealed. By formalizing privacy, by giving it a space where it can be witnessed without being violated. Hopper’s rooms become sad havens of desire. We want to know more about what goes on in them, but of course we cannot. The silence that accompanies our viewing seems to increase. It is unsettling. It weighs on us like solitude.
In Hopper's paintings there is a lot of waiting going on. Hopper's people seem to have nothing to do. They are like characters whose parts have deserted them and now, trapped in the space of their waiting, must keep themselves company, with no clear place to go, no future.
In Hopper's paintings there is a lot of waiting going on. Hopper's people seem to have nothing to do. They are like characters whose parts have deserted them and now, trapped in the space of their waiting, must keep themselves company, with no clear place to go, no future.
June 22, 2022
This book could serve as meditation prompts because the focus of both the paintings poet Mark Strand chooses and his essays is to, ‘locate the viewer in a virtual space.’ He isn’t interested in the social and cultural aspect of Hopper’s work but in how the painter formally constructed his pictures via geometric elements, particularly the use of triangles to mark off space often with the use of light to bring the reader in the not quite real scene.
Strand is very good at casually guiding the reader into the art to witness for themselves the disconnection or unease of the people, the vast threatening forests, the unreal way sunlight occupies part of the painting. It isn’t that the conclusion or meaning that he wants to give the reader but the chance to occupy that space for themselves and wonder at the idea of virtual space that appears as real space. What if we could bring our powers of imagination to the space of our own domestic lives and experience it in a deeper and richer way?
Strand is very good at casually guiding the reader into the art to witness for themselves the disconnection or unease of the people, the vast threatening forests, the unreal way sunlight occupies part of the painting. It isn’t that the conclusion or meaning that he wants to give the reader but the chance to occupy that space for themselves and wonder at the idea of virtual space that appears as real space. What if we could bring our powers of imagination to the space of our own domestic lives and experience it in a deeper and richer way?
October 18, 2020
Hopper is one of my favorite artists and I loved here how Strand (a great poet) observed Hopper’s work. I found myself thinking - in reply to Strand’s musing’s - , “Yes, that’s it! That’s EXACTLY why I’m drawn to this!” Some of Hopper’s art featured here wasn’t my favorite, but I think the discussion of Hopper’s art can apply broadly.
“... The adult world that surrounded me seemed as remote as the one that flourishes in his work ... I saw from the backseat ... a world glimpsed in passing ... it did not return my gaze. The invitation to construct a narrative for each painting is also part of the experience.”
“... So many scenes we register in passing, its sudden, immediate clarity absorbs is... in an island of light.”
“... The adult world that surrounded me seemed as remote as the one that flourishes in his work ... I saw from the backseat ... a world glimpsed in passing ... it did not return my gaze. The invitation to construct a narrative for each painting is also part of the experience.”
“... So many scenes we register in passing, its sudden, immediate clarity absorbs is... in an island of light.”
August 1, 2022
25+ paintings by #EdwardHopper are briefly described and sparsely commented upon as if to answer the question; "what makes this work so captivating?"
i admire the discipline by which writer #MarkStrand held back more personal remarks and interpretations. as he promised in the Preface, he wishes to regard what the paintings contain in themselves, rather than make up connections with American society the painter's life, and so on. still i kinda wish he inserted his views more for each piece, as I'm a new fan of his.
the writings are accompaniments, not meant to stand as texts alone but really just there to supplement, or suggest, how one may go about in appreciating Hopper's deliberate structures and design-ations, the feelings they may evoke.
i admire the discipline by which writer #MarkStrand held back more personal remarks and interpretations. as he promised in the Preface, he wishes to regard what the paintings contain in themselves, rather than make up connections with American society the painter's life, and so on. still i kinda wish he inserted his views more for each piece, as I'm a new fan of his.
the writings are accompaniments, not meant to stand as texts alone but really just there to supplement, or suggest, how one may go about in appreciating Hopper's deliberate structures and design-ations, the feelings they may evoke.
September 6, 2022
In my 20s i discovered Mark Strand. I loved his dark elegiac poetry. And so when my daughter was looking for a book on the painter Edward Hopper I suggested this one, not because I had read it but because I knew it must be great knowing Strand’s great powers as a writer. I recently read it and I was right. With powers of observation that equal his writerly skills, Strand focused not on the loneliness of Hopper’s works, but the “painterly strategies” that enable and evoke the loneliness — the well known alienation and emptiness we see in so many of his works. Strand’s short descriptions of 25 paintings opened up the works for me, hinting at beyond the frame narratives that I could unspool for myself.
August 4, 2017
A thoughtful introduction to Hopper
I had heard of hopper because of his painting of the poeple at a restaurant counter. Recently some allusions to his work in fiction prompted my curiosity and this is a good way to satisfy some of that curiosity and deepen it at the same tim. The author was poet laurete in 1990. Now i need to read his work as well. I read this book as a Kindle edition on an ipad. The illustration are adequately reproduced. Not long but thought provoking.
I had heard of hopper because of his painting of the poeple at a restaurant counter. Recently some allusions to his work in fiction prompted my curiosity and this is a good way to satisfy some of that curiosity and deepen it at the same tim. The author was poet laurete in 1990. Now i need to read his work as well. I read this book as a Kindle edition on an ipad. The illustration are adequately reproduced. Not long but thought provoking.
May 3, 2022
A tiny little book that includes meditations and reflections on individual Hopper paintings by one of North America's leading poets. Strand focuses on the geometry and form of individual paintings. A weakness (and perhaps a strength) of this book is that he ignores much of the scholarship and art history that has evolved behind these paintings.
I read this book very quickly but will return occasionally to devour Strand's reflections in shorter and smaller doses.
I read this book very quickly but will return occasionally to devour Strand's reflections in shorter and smaller doses.
March 25, 2020
Strand desmenuza las obras más emblemáticas de Hopper para plantear que es en la intimidad de nuestros pensamientos donde retenemos estas imágenes, conducidas según la iluminación del espacio y lo que hay fuera de cuadro principalmente.
Arte para viajar al interior, arte para valorar lo pasajero y cotidiano.
Arte para viajar al interior, arte para valorar lo pasajero y cotidiano.
June 13, 2020
Enlightening reflections on Hopper's use of sunlight, geometry, dark forests, archetecture, and people in his paintings. Now that I am 'woke', it will enable me to see those elements when looking at his paintings in the future. Some or the author's more poetic musings didn't work for me, but overall a rich short work.
October 7, 2022
One of the things I love about Goodreads is finding little gems like this in someone’s review. It wasn’t life changing, but it provides a different way of looking at Hopper’s art than the traditional loneliness narrative I have always encountered before. If it gives me a chance to see the world through new eyes for a while, that’s good enough for me.
August 12, 2023
I know Mark Strand's work from the New Yorker poems; but also years ago a friend of mine knew him so I've always remembered his name. This slim book appealed to me as an artist and as a fan of his writing. He offers wonderful little entries and observations of some of Hopper's paintings with a spare style and directness that helped me see so many things I'd have never noticed.
August 24, 2018
Loved it. Fabulous look at the meaning and intent of Hooper’s paintings. Helps answer that nagging question: “what IS it about Hopper’s paintings that stops you in your tracks and demands you to look, think, & feel?”
November 11, 2022
hopper’s paintings make me feel as if i’m on the verge of understanding. strand does a great job of discussing the art without defining it. extra points for not being pretentious. his writing is beautiful, but are colour pictures too much to ask for? :(
April 12, 2020
Comprehensive introduction to Edward Hopper’s paintings. Being a poet, Mark Strand provides his interpretation in the form of beautiful proses
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