One of the few privileges of living in Washington DC is the plethora of free museums and the quality of exhibits they attract. Running currently in The National Gallery’s East Building (that’s modern art to you) is a fantastic, if crowded, exhibit on Edward Hopper of Nighthawks fame.
Hopper’s works often featured figures that seem isolated both from each other and from their surroundings. Having seen the exhibit I would suggest that much of this isolation is due to the fact that Hopper just didn’t seem to be very good at painting people. Indeed, they are more simulacra of people than they are actual people. Hopper’s skill with light, though, rivals that of the much vaunted Dutch Masters. In some of his paints of Gloucester Massachusetts you can pratically feel the light hitting your skin as you look at the buildings.
Take a look at and explore Hopper’s paintings via interactive Flash movie or watch a video podcast on Hopper featuring the National Gallery’s senior curator (requires Quicktime).
In other news, I looked out my side window today to find that the Sparrow Hawk that haunted the woods behind my house last year is back. No ravaging of the current bird population as yet, at least none that I’ve witnessed, but I don’t doubt it’s coming. Still, there’s something magnificent about an animal that knows its place in its world.