The Fine Art Appreciation Thread

[Unitron]

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I wrote a paper on Lichtenstein back in high school. I don't have it anymore, but I'm sure it was completely devoid of content.
But I really liked his artwork back then and had a book with some of his work. I don't remember what happened to that book? Hmm...

Did you have a favorite piece of his or maybe a different one now?

I've always been an art history buff, so there's a ton of art I could talk about. Any fans of Edward Hopper's work? I've always loved the atmosphere that comes with the majority of his paintings. One of my favorites is New York Movie:

[MicShazam]

Originally Posted by Unitron

Did you have a favorite piece of his or maybe a different one now?

I haven't looked at his artwork in ages, but I'm pretty sure this one was one of my faves:

Originally Posted by Unitron

I've always been an art history buff, so there's a ton of art I could talk about. Any fans of Edward Hopper's work? I've always loved the atmosphere that comes with the majority of his paintings. One of my favorites is New York Movie:

I'm not super familiar with Hopper, but he's got some cool paintings. I like how his painting style is very naturalistic, but just imprecise enough and unrealistic enough in it's colors that they've got some real texture and atmosphere. Normally, I don't like very photo realistic painters that much.

[Unitron]

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I like how his painting style is very naturalistic, but just imprecise enough and unrealistic enough in it's colors that they've got some real texture and atmosphere.

I feel the same way, and also the arrangements and perspectives he uses add a lot of effect. The famous Nighthawks is a perfect example of it, the placement of the people in the bar and the odd perspective express a lot to me. Makes it a bit surreal in a sense.

[MicShazam]

It adds a lot to that "only people still up late at night" atmosphere that there's so few details. Where's the street lights, cars, fire hydrants, drains, dirt, road markings, signs and discarded bits of trash in the street? The cracks in the sidewalk tiles? There's not even any individual tiles painted - as if the sidewalks are one solid slab of polished concrete. The only real details inside are the people, glasses and the containers in the background. Even that yellow door is very simply illustrated. Where are the lights that shine so brightly on the inside of the bar even?

It's like his paintings seem very realistic at first, but then less so the more you look.

[windsock]

I'm not a huge fan of how photorealistic he paints his people in comparison to their surroundings. Nighthawks is a good example, with these heavily detailed people surrounded by a semi-blurred, murkier environment. Maybe it's supposed to emphasize them as the subjects of the painting to add to where they're spaced, but they look weirdly out of place.

[MicShazam]

I kinda see what you mean. The one I posted is an exception though. The woman with the tea cup has the same amount of detail as everything else. Her face is even kind of blurry.

[windsock]

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I kinda see what you mean. The one I posted is an exception though. The woman with the tea cup has the same amount of detail as everything else. Her face is even kind of blurry.

And I think that aesthetic should extend to most if not all of his work. It suits it much better.

[adidasss]

Just saw this great presentation on a very interesting 20th century American artist Alice Neel who is having a huge retrospective at the New York Met. Have a gander:



Edit: We have a thread already, thanks!