Via: www.mentalfloss.com written by Andréa Fernades

In honor of artist, Edward Hopper's 126th birthday, and via Metal Floss' “Feel Art Again” written by Andréa Fernandes' Circa71 features my favorite American artist, Edward Hopper and his 1929 painting “Chop Suey,” one of his many scenes of city life.

Though he’s known for city scenes like “Chop Suey” and the famous “Nighthawks,” Edward Hopper’s first big break was with a watercolor of a seaside home. “The Mansard Roof” was painted in 1923, during his first summer in Gloucester, MA, and was bought for the Brooklyn Museum’s permanent collection for $100—a decent amount at the time. Although he continued to vacation by the sea, Hopper’s watercolor production had slowed by 1946; he explained his lack of watercolor production by saying, “I think it’s because the watercolors are done from nature and I don’t work from nature anymore.”

Thanks to commercial artwork—which he loathed—Hopper was able to afford three trips to Europe, all of which centered around Paris. Unlike other artists who visited Paris, though, Hopper didn’t get in with the “it” crowd. He remarked: “Whom did I meet? Nobody. I’d heard of Gertrude Stein, but I don’t remember having heard of Picasso at all… Paris had no great or immediate impact on me.” While there, though, he did develop an affinity for the work of Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet and a dislike for Paul Cézanne’s work.

The two types of scenes that comprise the bulk of Hopper’s oeuvre—seaside houses and city nights—don’t seem to have much in common. They’re tied together, though, by Hopper’s emphasis on light and shadows. Hopper once said of his fascination with light, “Maybe I am slightly inhuman… all I ever wanted to do was to paint sunlight on the side of a house.”

As one of America’s most well-known artists, Hopper’s work has had a strong impact on pop culture. The house in Alfred Hitchcock’s Pscyho was heavily influenced by Hopper’s “House by the Railroad,” which was the first painting in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Turner Class Movies sometimes runs animated clips based on Hopper paintings prior to films, including “The Sunny Side of Life,” inspired by “Chop Suey.” According to Sister Wendy, “there was a period when every college dormitory in the country had on its walls a poster of Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks.’” And Madonna named her 1993 world tour after Hopper’s 1941 painting “Girlie Show,” even incorporating aspects of the painting into the performance.

Many scholars find “Chop Suey” particularly interesting because they believe the painting depicts a woman facing her doppelganger. Either way, the subjects of “Chop Suey” are less isolated and lonely than in most of Hopper’s other city scenes.

A larger version of “Chop Suey” is available here.

Fans of Edward Hopper should check out the exhibit guides from the NGA, the Tate Modern, and the MFA; Gordon Theisen’s Staying Up Much Too Late; the Edward Hopper Scrapbook; this YouTube video of Hopper paintings; Slate’s slideshow on Hopper architecture; the Smithsonian’s interview of Hopper; the ARC’s Hopper gallery; and the Edward Hopper House Art Center.

The second-season premiere Thursday of USA's "Burn Notice" attracted 5.39 million viewers overall -- a 35% increase over its series debut one year ago, according to Nielsen. The show also performed well with the 18-to-49-year-old demographic group: It scored a 1.8 rating/6 share in the advertiser-friendly demo. (Variety 7/13)

Just five weeks into the second season of its "Army Wives," Lifetime has announced a third season of the popular series. At the Television Critics Association press tour, Lifetime President and CEO Andrea Wong explained the early renewal: "Since premiering last year, 'Army Wives' has become a game-changer for Lifetime." (Yahoo!/E! Online 7/11)

Crash, the original drama series based on the Oscar winning movie of 2006, is set to debut on Starz on Friday, October 17 at 10p.  Co-produced by Lionsgate and Starz Entertainment, the series stars Dennis Hopper. Starz has ordered 13 episodes. (Cynopsis 7/14)

Richard Parsons, CEO of Time Warner, says he is "much more bullish" on the media industry than investors. "People will continue to consume more and more of what entertainment companies produce," he insists. Parsons adds that companies can't create value by merely breaking them up. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOi7d6Jog9WY 7/11)

Scripps Network Interactive, which houses cable nets such as HGTV, Food Network and DIY, remains at the center of speculation about an acquisition by NBC Universal. Such a deal, according to this article, could fetch more than SNI's $6.5 billion market capitalization. (Multichannel News 7/13)

NBC Universal says its profit rose just 1% in the second quarter, as revenue growth at cable networks USA, Bravo and Sci-Fi were partially offset by declines at the NBC broadcast network and its owned-and-operated TV stations. NBC primetime ratings are down about 10%. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nbc-universal-profit-inches-higher/story.aspx?guid=%7B52515315%2D51C3%2D4E48%2D88D0%2D0A8E3F2AF990%7D 7/11)

John Malone has spent about $95 million on 3.8 million shares of Liberty Capital Group, one of the tracking stocks connected to his Liberty Media firm, according to this report. Assets in Liberty Capital include the Atlanta Braves as well as minority positions in Time Warner and Sprint Nextel. (Multichannel News 7/14)

A survey by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation reported that FX, HBO and Showtime offer the most responsible coverage of gay and lesbian characters on cable TV. HBO also was singled out for having the most ethnically diverse characters. (Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter 7/14)

In a statement issued early Friday evening, SAG leaders said they still want to negotiate the final offer given to them from the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers nearly two weeks ago. The AMPTP said their offer was indeed the last and best offer available, calling it a "take-it-or-leave-it proposition" which will not be enhanced further. (Cynopsis 7/14)

Ahora se acaba de publicar un estudio sobre todo esto -Hopper, por Mark Strand (Lumen) -y de nuevo se habla de ese singular fenómeno de los vasos comunicantes entre las artes. "La poesía - se dijo ya hace tiempo - debería producir una semejanza a través de la imaginación, o bien un retrato que provoque en  el ojo una representación visible de la cosa que describe y pinta en su cuadro". Estamos entonces ante la descripción exquisita de la realidad física - esa casa junto a las vías del tren, un faro solitario, una mujer aislada -y todo ello para evocar una imagen en la mente tan intensa como si el objeto descriptivo estuviera frente al lector. Eso nos ocurre con Hopper. Strand habla de que sus cuadros nos invitan a construir un relato. Y nos tienta mucho el poder comenzarlo. ¿Por qué no ponerle nombre y apellidos a estos personajes? ¿Cuáles son sus vidas? Avanzaríamos en unas existencias que apenas son esbozadas y que nos sugieren nudos de historias. Estaríamos  en ese universo de las artes que dialogan entre sí, cercanos de algún modo a esos creadores múltiples que  tantos recuerdos nos han dejado.  Hay que pensar en el Lorca de los dibujos y la poesía, en Dalí (pintura y escritos), en Alberti (nuevamente dibujos y poemas), y si nos remontamos río arriba,  figuras de esa multiplicidad de "vocaciones dobles" como las de E.T.A. Hoffman,  y aún más arriba, Miguel Ángel.

(Imágenes: Hopper.-int. org/ Hopper: tate. org.uk)

You can still see him through the telescope...

As Rockhopper used to say!
Shiver me timbers!

The British Museum

The American Scene : Prints from Hopper to Pollock
Until 7 September 2008

The exhibition is on view in Room 90/ Free




The American Scene features around 150 outstanding prints by 74 leading modern American artists, including George Bellows, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois and Jackson Pollock.

The Fifth Column: Artist: Hugo Gellert, 1943,
Colour Screenprint.
Copyright: Courtesy of the Mary Ryan Gallery, New York

The first half of the 20th century was a period of great change in America, and this exhibition examines American society and culture through the prints produced by some of the most important artists of the time.

The exhibition begins with John Sloan's Ashcan School etchings of everyday urban experience in the 1900s and concludes with Jackson Pollock and the triumph of abstract expressionism in the 1950s.

Hitch-hiker; 1937. Artist: Robert Gwathmey.
Colour screenprint.
Copyright DACS 2008

Share Croppers; 1944. Artist: Robert Gwathmey.
Colour screenprint.
Copyright DACS 2008

Combo: Artist: James McConnell, 1951
Colour Screenprint.

Many of the images in the intervening period explore the changing urban landscape of New York, the onset of the Depression, the romanticised visions of the American heartlands by the Regionalists, the response to the rise of Fascism in Europe and America’s entry into the Second World War.

All the works come from the British Museum’s own American print collection, which is the most comprehensive outside the United States covering this period.

© Text Courtesy he British Museum
© Photos. All rights reserved. Any use strictly is prohibited

Links

• The British Museum
• American Late: Independence Day at the British Museum

Espaces Arts & Objets Swiss Art Gallery

Disclaimer & Copyright

Yep, that is his ship, so close you can see the puffle! He is probably going to be here by Friday.

ESPN Hockey Talker-Aboutter Barry Melrose was officially introduced as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday. MYFO did not, in fact, manage to land an interview with Coach Melrose following the press conference, but if we had, it might have gone uhhhhhhlittttle somethingggg.......... liiiiiike this:

MYFO: Do you believe the Capitals are the team to beat in the Southeast?

BARRY MELROSE: I believe Alexander Ovechkin is the most dynamic player in the National Hockey League right now. He scores goals, he delivers big hits. But also, the Capitals have some talent with Semin and Green, they're a very good young hockey team.

Do you think Carolina can bounce back and be the force they were two years ago during their Cup run?

I believe Rod Brind'Amour is the best two-way player in the National Hockey League right now. Once he gets healthy, his leadership should be a huge boost for those guys, Cole, Staal, Justin Williams, young Cam Ward, Ron Francis used to play for this team.

How do you believe the Southeast Division compares to the Atlantic, which sent four teams to the playoffs last year?

I believe Sidney Crosby is the best all-round player in the game today. Malkin, Drury, Gomez, Briere, and Marty Brodeur is still Marty Brodeur. The Rangers still have Lundqvist. Rick DiPietro.

What approach will you take with the Lightning, a skilled team up front that's sort of dropped off defensively the past couple seasons?

Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Marty St. Louis, err, sorry, not Richards... Danny Boyle? Big Dave Andreychuk was a great leader. They miss Khabiboulin.

Thank you for your time, Barry. Good luck behind the bench this year.

Randy McKay. Power forward.

24 czerwca we wszystkim znanej Mleczarni odbędzie się wernisaż fotografii Macieja Waszkiewicza. Rozpoczęcie - g. 19.00, wstęp wolny.

MNC O5 to cykl fotografii składających się na dyplom Macieja Waszkiewicza, absolwenta wydziału fotografii Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Filmowej, Telewizyjnej i Teatralnej im. Leona Schillera w Łodzi. Pomysł projektu powstał we wrześniu 2005 r. w czasie podróży po Wielkiej Brytanii. Autor tak opisuje tamte chwile: "Gdy zwiedzałem Manchester zapadł zmrok. Zapaliły się charakterystyczne lekko pomarańczowe latarnie. Miasto nabrało dziwnej, niespodziewanej magii... Wiedziałem, że kiedyś tu wrócę."

Tematem przewodnim zdjęć zrobionych kilka miesięcy później, jest samotność rodząca się w wielkim skupisku ludzi. Poczucie pustki panujące w betonowym środowisku. Emocje będące nieodłącznymi elementami życia w współczesnym mieście symbolizuje na zdjęciach brak ludzi. To widz staje się ich bohaterem. Odbiorca zostaje wprowadzony w zamkniętą uliczkę nocnego Manchesteru. Miasto odrzuca odosobnieniem i jednocześnie pociąga tajemniczością oraz niespodziewanie odkrytym pięknem. Jedynym schronieniem jest padające światło latarni. Jego ciepło wprowadza spokój, równoważy oziębłość mrocznych zakątków Manchesteru.

Dążenie autora do estetyzacji obrazu nadaje osobliwy magiczny charakter zwykłym, często brzydkim w świetle dziennym, miejscom. Wysublimowana kolorystyka przyciąga uwagę, skłania do uważniejszego wczytania się w obrazy. Wskazuje również na kunszt rzemieślniczy fotografa, dla którego głównym źródłem inspiracji były prace Hopper'a , w których pejzaż wielkiego miasta jest zarazem obrazem wszechobecnego odosobnienia.

W projekcie MNY 05 równie mocno widać nawiązania do zdjęć tła nocnego L.Owerka oraz prac N.Kandera.

Mentre i turioni edibili della giovane letteratura romena diventano sempre più rari e meno succulenti, anche perché ormai in questa nicchia editoriale vige un quasi monopolio della Polirom (che possiede pure la dependance della Cartea Romanesca), nel mondo delle arti visuali tira altra aria...la scena ribolle, si chiacchiera, si critica, si espone un po’ ovunque in Europa e negli USA. Poi, soprattutto si vende. Prendiamone uno a caso di questi artisti “tineri” : Serban Savu (classe 1978). L’occhio di Savu è intento a scorgere gesti banali, rituali posticci, frammenti di un peep show sociale che in latenza manifestano l’ansia di una realtà indistinta. Di qui poi si potrebbe prendere il largo e navigare sui cavalloni del panopticon, che in Romania prima passa attraverso lo stato - il regime comunista-, poi si trasfigura nella maldigerita società dei consumi e quidi risale dal buco della serratura artistico di Savu e di molti suoi compagni d’armi (Victor Man, Mircea Suciu, Cristi Pogacean ecc. tutti della combriccola di Cluj) per offrirsi al nostro sguardo. Frammenti di vita quelli di Savu colti da lontano che esprimono la poetica scabra della transizione romena, dove gli sfondi sfocati dominano e i volti scemano in una paradossale tensione. Savu, secondo alcuni. rielabora la desolazione di Edward Hopper, ci sta!, ma solo se il tutto è filtrato con le lenti dell'arte e della società ex sovietica, mettendoci dentro, per quanto possa sembrare sballato, Wilhelm Sasnal, Andro Wekua e un pizzico di (post) Ceausescu.

Fleury's Agent and Ray Shero sit through the entire tape of Pens/Wings Game 5.

FLEURY'S AGENT: Or, how about 25 years, $1 trillion?

RAY SHERO: ...Deal.

FLEURY'S AGENT: I believe my client has demonstrated time and time again that, at the young age of 23, he is already an elite NHL talent capable of backstopping a team deep into the playoffs. He's followed up his 40-win '06-'07 regular season with a dominating 2008 playoff performance, winning 12 of his first 14 starts and posting a sub-2.00 Goals Against Average and a 94% Save Percentage en route to a Cup Finals berth. Therefore, my client is seeking nothing less than legitimate, top-notch goaltender money in the vicinity of $6-$7 million per year over the next five seasons.

Ray Shero pauses. He pulls out a remote control, hits a button, and a video screen drops down from the ceiling. The following clip plays:

The video screen goes back up into the ceiling. The room is silent for ten seconds.

RAY SHERO: Three years, $9 million.

Ten more seconds of silence.

FLEURY'S AGENT: ...Deal.

Say hello to the new sports phenom in Cincinnati, Jay Bruce.  This guy is an absolute monster.  In case you're not much of a Reds or MLB follower, Bruce was drafted by the Reds in 2005 with the 12th pick in the first round.  Last year he dominated the minor leagues and was named the minor league player of the year.  Before being called up last week he was hitting over .500 in Triple A with the Louisville Bats.  Even more impressive than his minor league resume has been his debut in the majors.  In his first 5 games his batting average has been .579 with an on-base percentage of over .700!  Not to mention he had a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10th inning today against the Braves.

Time to say goodbye to either Griffey or Dunn and welcome in the future with Jay Bruce.  I personally think the Reds will deal either Griffey or Dunn once Keppinger, Gonzalez, and Hopper make their way back off the DL.  Hopefully they will let Griffey hit his 600th homer and then trade him to Seattle.  He's not getting any younger or more productive and Seattle is more-than-willing to take his inflated salary in order to fill some seats.  With Bruce, Votto, Volquez, Cueto, and Janish all making their debut this year and with Homer Bailey and Daryl Thompson still waiting in the wings, things are looking bright in Cincinnati for a change.

My favorite Hopper works are his studies of light on classic old buildings; the psychodramas that make up much of his later work are interesting, but they don't add that much meaning for me.  I think a great deal can be implied simply by the human details (without the humans).  Besides, I think he was better at rendering buildings than humans.  

The Chicago exhibit was among the best art exhibitions we have seen.  It is over, but you can review some of Hopper's work at the following websites.

http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/exhibition/hopper

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/H/hopper.html

On the return trip from Chicago on the South Shore Line, an interurban railroad, I photographed a woman sitting alone on the passenger seat across from me.  I think it shows how I was channelling Edward Hopper on this wonderful day.

This is part of a weblog documenting my travels and photography. I am primarily a nature photographer, and you can see more of my work at http://www.leerentz.com

Click on the photograph below to see a larger version.

Quelques interviews et vidéo suivent pour essayer de transposer l'ambiance du moment. Quelques groupes de l'affiche se sont prêtés au jeu des questions : Carabine, Ed-Äke, Hey Hey My MY, Hopper et Stuck In The Sound.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cast & Credits

Directed by Dennis Hopper. Screenplay by Rachel Kronstadt Mann and Ann Louise Bardach; story by Rachel Kronstadt Mann. MPAA: Rated R for language, sensuality and violence. Runtime: 116 min.