Edward Hopper: Portrayals of melancholia, solitude and the Incommunicative uncanny.

Have you ever considered a moment in time, when words became redundant, whilst visible inaction speaks aloud, directly to you, in an uncomfortable yet familiar way? The answer would be yes, it is universal. The feeling of the “uncanny” is an unchanging reality of the human condition, whether it be feelings of isolation, melancholia, solitude or tense silence, Hopper seems to grasp this feeling within his viewers, revoking feelings of silent yet un-easing awkwardness. Hopper is known for his compositional simplicity, others may say subject matter also. Nevertheless his figurative scenes of inter –war years in urban New York, give the viewer the freedom to question, debate and sympathise. Thus creating their own personal idealizations of what’s occurring in a scene, ultimately, enticing the viewer to engage with Hoppers delicately emotional work. Three works in particular, which portray the uncanny as well as and other emotions which assimilate the notion of isolation, are three in which I have chosen, in order to represent separate idealisms Hopper used in his work. Namely being melancholia, emotional solitude and the incommunicative uncanny.

Hopper was known for painting within two very distinct subject matters, either depicting American life and its inhabitants or rural landscapes. However my interests lie within his figurative works in his portrayal of the uncanny. The first of Hoppers works I wish to analyse is one of his most famous. Chop Suey, 1929. This piece shows a meal taking place in a Chinese restaurant, which is similar to the restaurants Hopper and his wife attended[1]. The initial theme this piece projects to its viewer is the obvious uncanny, but is portrayed through a kind of artistic laconicism; terseness of expression[2]. The scene shows two women seated in the restaurant, this is our focal point that our eyes are directed to. In a restaurant we would assume that conversation would take place, or maybe even a gaze to your companion. The women are not conversing; there is no connection and they have an awkward frozen like pose, which heightens the sense of a tense moment. Of course, Hopper may have chosen to depict a frame in time when a major event was about to take place, or maybe it already has? Hopper had a love for the theatre and film noir. This later took great influence upon his works and in result most of his figurative scenes do look like they could be film stills; a still frame but the way in which the figures are positioned in the environment, create a sense of movement. This was a technique Hopper used frequently. It is interesting to look at the figures and see that there is a striking resemblance between them.

 Hoppers wife was the model for both figures, and in most of his paintings for that matter[3]. The uncanny feeling reaches us when we look at the ‘mask like’ face of the woman looking in our direction, but not directly at us; her expression suggests fear, uncertainty and slight anxiety. We cannot see the other figures face, we are left to imagine her expression and whether she is connecting with her companion. Art historians have also suggested that the women are Doppelgangers[4], that have met at the restaurant by chance maybe; this possibility if not slightly over romanticised works but without seeing the other figures face, this is left open for debate, but its notion is still rather uncanny. This creates a mysterious and uncomfortable feeling of a tense moment, which reflects a kind of emotional isolation as well as a rather ambiguous relationship. The paintings mood and tone is highly contrasted, due to its explicit light and dark differentiation. On the left hand side, inside the restaurant, it has a much bleaker, darker tone which metaphorically assimilates the idea of isolation, anxiety and eeriness. More interestingly, when considering the date of the piece’s completion, 1929[5], the Wall Street crash was happening, obviously creating unsettlement amongst the public. Maybe the dark colours represent the feeling of being enclosed and isolated from city life as it once was.  Hence the viewers looking at the figures from within the restaurant, with no obvious escape, although there is a suggestion of the outside world; the hanging coat for example, and the ladder on the outside of the window. Moreover, the canvas is divided colour wise, with the main light source lighting the restaurant, we can see a lamp which is not lit, a representation of how the women may be feeling perhaps? The sunlight  highlighting the woman’s face, maybe a comment of the vibrant New York city life people are clinging to, but obviously we’re striving to retain, since the fall of the stock markets; this notion is reinforced by the lack of food on the table. It is interesting to note the slight abstraction Hopper has included in this piece. We can evidently see a flavour of abstraction in the window formations. But strangely this works with the notion of the uncanny, in that Hopper can paint a relatively realistic, cinematic style scene, but somehow harmonize abstract shapes into the composition, leaving the viewer with a sense of unsettlement and doubt.

The second figurative work that I feel represents a slightly different mode of uncanny, and that is loneliness, isolation and solitude. This piece is Hoppers Automat, 1927[6]. The initial feeling one gets when you look at the piece, is alienation, which is still quite ambiguous as we don’t know whether the overall mood is meant to be one of depression, detachment or one of perfectly normal life for a young woman in the late 20’s. However we are drawn to believe, from a combination of factors, that the woman is in fact dehumanized to some extent, secluded in the automat in a highly charged, emotionally tense atmosphere. Our eyes are drawn to the figure of the woman. She sits alone, looking almost like a statue in a freeze frame like pose, again another reference to Hopper’s love for cinematic themes and technique. The main focal point is the woman’s face, which is interesting as it is totally void of emotion. This observation is only a factor in the subject matters reasoning, there are other major factors which give the viewer a much stronger notion of the strangely uncanny. Moreover, on a larger scale, the dark shaded window dominates the painting. Of course a large amount of black does give the impression of a sad mood, but it is the line of lights hovering amongst the dark, which give the viewer an unsettling feeling. Is it night, or is it in the early morning before sunrise? We don’t know. It is hard to envisage where the woman has come from and where she will go when she leaves the automat. With this, our minds battle with the idea of her never leaving at all, this is when the viewer become attached to the idea of the woman’s feelings of seclusion and entrapment from the rest of society. This idea of the woman being enclosed within the automat is enhanced by a lack of entrance or exit available for the viewer to see; creating a quiet, eerie and anxious setting. A rather striking feature of the piece is the contrast between the rather dull atmosphere; practically and metaphorically speaking, and the small assortment of colour on the flowers, situated on the window ledge. The flowers are strategically placed amongst the black backdrop, to the right of the woman; from her point of view, and we are drawn to their vibrancy and warmth. A contrast is created between the flowers and the pale cold colours of the woman’s face and clothes. Interestingly this could suggest a metaphor for the woman’s current emotional situation; life has the potential to be colourful, flowers which are colourful are symbolic of life, and the cold, dull woman; death. But of course, the woman has her back turned on the colour and may see only the dark, lonely colours of the automat which is symbolic of her current mood.

The Final figurative piece i have chosen to analyse is Hoppers “Room in New York”, 1932[7]. Hopper always managed to capture a moment which could be questioned considerably, whether it is awkward or a sense of silence, his ideas always reach his audience, in a romantic idealizing manner. In the case of the room in New York, a scene which features a man and a woman is familiar to us all. But Hopper manages to create a scene in which the viewer sees inconversable people, but the underlying communication becomes apparent to the audience, through his use of cinematic style with careful attention and study of body language. The initial detail that becomes apparent to the viewer is the lack of communication between the couple in the room. Their bodies are facing separate directions apart from the woman’s lower body and legs. This could suggest her want for communication, but the man is completely absorbed in his newspaper. When looking into the painting more carefully, we can see that the couple are in fact connected, but by the table in the centre. The figures are painted using such a loose technique that they are almost mannequin like, their faces have no expression which is strange; people’s faces are the fundamental attribute other people consider their inner feelings and thoughts. Therefore they are not much help to the viewer, only leaving them with an uncomfortable and mysterious feeling. Hopper makes the viewer think in order to read the paintings and keeps them guessing by leaving out fundamental objects in the room. We cannot see any obvious light source in the room, but it is a well lit room with darkness outside, which mysteriously seems to creep into the scene. There is also no door handle on the door, this adds to the awkwardness and heightened tension in the room, is there a way out? The door does not seem to have a top or bottom, and strangely resembles a ladder. We know there is a window where the viewer is meant to be on looking, but at that height? This small intimate scene suggests an act of voyeurism on the viewer’s part; we are looking upon a simple silent scene with no interaction. However there are subtle sexual undertones to the piece which support this notion of voyeurism.

The use of the colour red is used obviously and subtly in specific areas around the canvas, which could be a suggestion of underlying passion. The woman neck is turned at such an angle that it is aimed at the man. The body language also supports this point; the woman has a poised, upright stature, whereas the man is slouched forward in his chair, looking rather uninterested and in a deflated mood. We even get the feeling that maybe he will turn and look at us! On the other hand, the woman has her finger on the piano key and seems to be striking a single note. Looking at the man’s face he could well be singing, but with just one note being played this is very unlikely and certainly adds the idea of the inconversable uncanny. The idea of one minimal sound being played in a silent room may also cause unease to the viewer, and certainly creates a sense of unsettling eeriness. We are drawn into the room where there is minimal activity, a kind of shedding light on a microcosm of action, from the dark outside world. But what the viewer sees is unexpected inactivity creating confusion about an uncomfortably strange situation. This is one of Hoppers successful paintings where here, actions speak louder than words, and leaves it for the viewer to determine what is happening in this cinematic scene.

To conclude, it is clear that Hopper used paint to make statements in paintings that arouse a sense of the uncanny mood in the viewer and because our familiarity with the uneasiness of the images; which in most cases stem from initial emotions, such as solitude, tension, loneliness, awkwardness and desolation, we can sympathise with or relate to the images as conditions of the human condition and our surroundings. It is interesting to see the use of his cinematic influence in his work, which creates a sense of movement within the painting, although at the same time, in my opinion they can be generally seen as emotionally charged film stills, representative of the melancholic state.

Bibliography:

Nochlin, L, Edward hopper and the imagery of alienation, Art Journal, 41:2 (1981: Summer) p.137, 138.

Iversen.M, In the Blind Field: Hopper and the Uncanny, Vol 2, No.3, Blackwell publishers, September 1998, pp. 409-429.

Websites:

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/acloserlook.shtm

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/fullscreens/urbanpictures/229-041.shtm

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[1] ^{http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/acloserlook.shtm}

[2] ^{http://www.thefreedictionary.com/laconism}

[3] ^{http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/acloserlook.shtm}

[4] ^{http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/acloserlook.shtm}

[5] ^{Iversen.M, In the Blind Field: Hopper and the Uncanny, Vol 2, No.3, Blackwell publishers, September 1998, pp. 419}

[6] ^{Iversen.M, In the Blind Field: Hopper and the Uncanny, Vol 2, No.3, Blackwell publishers, September 1998, pp. 418}

[7] ^{http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/fullscreens/urbanpictures/229-041.shtm}