20th Century Art-20 Revolutionaries: Edward Hopper – Realism in Cinematography

After Duchamp, the idea of ‘value’ changed in art. With concept gaining a heightened importance, new questions could be asked of the artist: what research went into the idea of the work? How did it add to the assemblage of the piece? In what ways was the art world lacking before this artist entered the scene? These questions belong to the founder of conceptualism, Joseph Kosuth, who first set forth his idea in Art and Philosophy. This series of lectures looks at 20 key artists of the twentieth century who contributed to the revolutions and counter revolutions that nurtured contemporary art.

Our third character in the series is Edward Hopper (1882-1967), an American artist who witnessed the end of realism, and favoured a form of hyper-realism, which sought to reflect on the photographic eye over its human counterpart. Hopper painted with cinematographic sensibilities, indeed it has been said that each of his canvases can be read like a beautiful shot from a familiar movie.

Irina Kulik, art critic, culture expert, PhD, lecturer at IPCA and Studio-School of MkHAT, columnist at Culture paper and author of numerous publications on contemporary art, music and cinema.