商品簡介
Winner of the 2009 Umhoefer Prize for Achievement in the Arts and Humanities, this oversized softbound volume documents the work of painter Edward Hopper. The book is produced with Phaidon's usual attention to detail, and filled with high-quality reproductions of Hopper's paintings, as well as works by other artists relevant to the discussion of Hopper's work. Walter Wells' text is well-researched and written (he is emeritus professor of both English and Humanities and American Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills, US). When analyzing the effect of Hopper's images on the viewer, Wells assumes that viewer is a white heterosexual man, in concordance with the historical demographics of Hopper's collectors, critics, evaluators, and fans. The final chapter looks at Hopper as an impresario, theatrically staging his images. The author strikes a careful balance among three kinds of analysis: the paintings in relation to the painter's life, the paintings in terms of cultural and Freudian iconography and viewer response, and the painter's choices as aesthetic and technical. Wells offers extensive research and analysis without attempting to codify all meanings, leaving room for mystery. Some chapter headings are thematic ("Vortices of Despair," "The Furtive Eye," "Sexual Permutations") while others are technical ("Women in Windows," "By the Sea," "Architecture"). The author's strongest editorial choices come in selecting which paintings represent the former categories. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
