When something is just right the first time you see or hear it, can it be attributed to formula or technique? Usually not. It is obviously something that can’t be learned just by taking classes or mingling with masters.
Recently I watched for the third or fourth time Gorillaz: Demon Days Live in Harlem and think a certain type of magic had to take place in order Albarn to pull this off. I know it is well produced and staged, but so are so many things that don’t work and are far from being magical. How does the magic happen. For something to be important and seen as a contribution it has to not be before or after its’ time.
It has to have an enduring beat, something that time can’t dull, like “Little Rooty Tooty”
So it is for me with the Paintings of Hopper. There is Poetry in his paintings. Old style rap, you can see and feel the “Rhythm”
There is a Hopper exhibit in Boston right now. I wish I could go.
I am a Hopper fan since I saw his work exhibited at the Whitney many years ago. I love everything except the way he depicted water waves.
The picture that you show is featured in a poster. I printed it out to study its lines.
I have a postcard of this painting in my cubicle at work! The above image is cropped, by the way. I believe in magic (uh-oh, Sean Cassidy’s “Do You Believe in Magic?” is coarsing through my brain!!) and when something comes out right the first try, which is for me not often, I am overjoyed. But I also know that moment could not have happened without all the sweat and mistakes and failed efforts that came before it!
Looking at the picture again, I understand why Hopper appeals to you.
Bob,
You really make me wish I knew Gorillaz or Little Rooty Tooty. I’ll have to look ’em up. I’ve never heard anything musical said about Hopper before (doesn’t mean much, though), but I can easily hear blues in my head looking at his sad paintings.
I think the magic means these were right for you, and perhaps — but not necessarily — for a lot of others. I definitely agree there are times when an artist hits on a theme and a way of expressing it that speak to many. I admire those in our culture who can do that, even if I don’t personally care for their work. (I’m not saying that’s the case here; I’m simply ignorant of the works you mention. Only one way to fix that…)
Gorillaz is a virtual/fictional animated band and Little Rooty Tooty that I am referring to is a score written by Thelonious Monk and a very famous live performance and recording at New York’s “Town Hall”.
All three reference in my post are my personal views and for other people they will encounter magic some place else. The Magic I’m talking about takes place without any prompting by a critic, promoter, agents, talk show host or anyone other then yourself.
I recall being present at one of the early performances of “Dream Girls” in New York before the big reviews and Jennifer Holiday belts out “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. Men in the audience began to cry and the women seem to want to say Amen. Magical moment for me.
I cried about the death of my dog listening to Mahler Songs at Lincoln Center. It felt like a wonderful cartharsis.