Five Pictures

Been relying too much on the word, lately and not enough on the image. Working off of today's photograph of a routemaster, here are five pieces by my favorite non-photography artists.

1. Georges Seurat, Au Concert Parisien

Sadly, this is not my favorite Seurat drawing. That would be one of a lone figure walking down a street under a streetlight that I saw as part of a visiting exhibition at the Peggy Guggenheim when I was 12. being 12, I didn't take the time to right down or commit to memory the name. Fie on me, I say. But this give you the general picture...the blurry edges, the figures barely coming out of the dark, and this one even has a theatrical element!

2. Edward Hopper, Rooms for Tourists

I think, at this point, it's pretty well established that (without necessarily being a particularly sad person), I do quite like sad things. This may be why Edward Hopper is my favorite artist. His pictures tend to be bright, bold and simple and yet somehow also lonely and heart breaking. They also are so rich with story, it's insane. Even this quiet house, I feel, has a story behind it, and I love wondering about what that story is.

3. William Hogarth, Marriage a La Mode- Scene II: Shortly After Marriage

Speaking of stories! William Hogarth is the man. Painting in the 18th century, he's pretty much one of the first serial cartoonists, making series of paintings that tell often cynical and scandalous stories about terrible people leading terrible lives. It's like fine art as a reality TV show. I saw an exhibit of his work in London and it's just...awesome. Every picture is incredibly rich in detail and they read almost like mini-plays. This print is the second in a seven-part series detailing a marriage of convenience that devolves into death, madness and all kind of adultery. Good times! As you can tell from the black dot on the tired man, he already has syphilis.

4. Van Gogh, Vase of Roses

The problem with Van Gogh is that I don't think his painting photograph remarkably well because part of what makes them so fascinating is their texture. This is a man who, in between cutting ears and going wonky, really liked to lay on paint, and when you stand in front of one of his pieces it's hard to resist the urge to run your hands over them. This is a painting that's in the Met and, I think, a particularly good example of what I'm talking about. Next time you're in New York, go investigate.

5. Rene Magritte, Empire of Light

Settling on the last picture was rough (what about Vermeer? Renoir? Sundry others?), but I love love love this picture. It has an element of a children's book about it, and yet is still so simple and elegant and I love the juxtaposition of night/day. What you can't see in the picture here, and can only really see in person, is that there are things in the dark. To the right of the house is a gate that leads into a garden, and it's impossible to explain how you can see that, but you can. you wind up kind of falling into this picture, and accepting the reality it creates.

Now on to less artistic endeavors...