This is an exercise in identifying “agenda”,
defined as an “underlying sets of values and objectives”
in three different artists who all paint the same “motif”
(a motif is a subject or theme that consistently reoccurs in the work of different artists).
In this case, all three artists are Northeastern male WASPs painting the subject of city life in New York
Yet, each artist brings out different aspects of his subject.
On the Web, look up these nine paintings:
after World War Two. So, they’re alike in backgrounds, they’re alike in subject matter.
The Subway, 1950, George Tooker, Whitney Museum Of Art
Government Bureau, 1956, George Tooker, Metropolitan Museum Of Art
Landscape With Figures, 1965, George Tooker
“The Roadblock” 1949, Norman Rockwell
“The Homecoming”, 1945, Norman Rockwell
“Walking To Church”, 1954, Norman Rockwell
“Room In Brooklyn”, 1932, Edward Hopper, MFA
“Nighthawks”, 1942, Edward Hopper, Art Institute Of Chicago
“Automat”, 1927, Edward Hopper
Please answer the following questions, one paragraph for each. Remember, you need to see these paintings on the Web so you can see details:
1.) Compare facial expressions in Hopper paintings and Tooker paintings to the facial expressions in Rockwell paintings.
2.) Compare the body language in Hopper paintings and Tooker paintings to the body language in Rockwell paintings.
3.) Compare the light and the light sources and the shadows in Hopper paintings and Tooker paintings to the light and the light sources and the shadows in Rockwell paintings.
4.) Which artist – – – Rockwell or Hopper or Tooker – – – uses MORE geometric shapes and forms? Which artist uses more biomorphic forms?
5.) Are there dogs in Tooker’s paintings?
Are there any dogs in Hopper paintings?
Are there any dogs in Rockwell’s paintings?
Why do you suppose that is?
6.) How do the three artists see city life differently?
7.) If these were MOVIES, what would the movies FEEL like? Name a movie that you’ve seen that feels like a Rockwell picture. Describe a movie that you’ve seen that feels like a Hopper picture. What would a movie that feels like a Tooker painting feel like?
8.) In this classroom, we’ll be discussing the role that artists give nature in their paintings.
For example, in Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon in La Grande Jatte”, nature is domesticated, tamed, made decorative, used as a leisure activity.
In other pictures, like Thomas Cole’s “Expulsion Of Adam And Eve From The Garden Of Eden”, nature is untamed, a manifestation of God’s will.
Does nature show up in any of these nine paintings? If so, what is it’s role?