Sally Mann, Edward Hopper, and museums
I was reminded of the Sally Mann documentary What Remains recently when I was discussing museums and galleries with fellow Pause, to Begin blogger Susan. We had both just seen the Edward Hopper exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. As you might expect, it was a crowded show, but it was well put together containing not only the greatest hits, but also a majority of his successful earlier work.
Discussing the exhibit afterwards, I realized that since this collection of nearly every important painting Hopper made in his life was in an established museum it was bound to tell many of the holiday gallery goers that Hopper is a definitive, masterful painter of the 20th Century. That sentence may sound overly obvious, but my point is as soon as a work of art is displayed in a museum, opposed to a gallery, it has been decided by at least one person (the curator) that such artwork is of a quality that it is to be shown in an arena that is geared towards the masses, not simply the art community. Museums are also more of an educational space than a gallery. Museums inform us about things ranging from art to insects to dinosaurs. Galleries mostly show us popular art that can sell, and if the artwork in a gallery is not know to be popular then it still most likely looks contemporary. In other words nothing overly new and strange.
Hopper’s most famous paintings look an awful lot like photography created within the last several years. From color palates to composition and themes, visually a Gregory Crewdson photograph looks a lot like a Hopper painting. Clearly, Hopper has served as an influence to photographers beyond just Crewdson, but he is perhaps the most famous example. I think it is safe to say the Crewdson was educated in part by looking at Hopper’s paintings.
Somehow all of this reminded me of Sally Mann and one sentence that she said in the film. As she reflected on the whole process of the What Remains opening being canceled at the last minuet by Pace/McGill Gallery and instead opening at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Mann said something about how in a way it worked out better because the show was now more accessible to her friends, and the Corcoran was showing the work because of it’s artistic merit not it’s salability. Mann also went on to speculate that Pace/McGill canceled her show because they thought that they could not sell her work.
Sally Mann was at a point in her career where she no longer needed a Chelsea Gallery opening to solidify her place in the contemporary photography art world, after all she is still represented by the Gagosian Gallery.
All of this brought to mind some of what I consider to be the most influential photography to young photographers today. The likes of Stephen Shore and William Eggleston come to mind, and they both had early prominent exhibitions at the Met and MoMA respectively. Their photographs are now iconic, just as Mann’s photographs are. To be shown in a gallery is wonderful, especially since there are some amazing galleries that only show the very best work, but to be exhibited in a museum is a testament to the artist’s place in their generation as one of the most important artists of the era.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Hopper’s use of color is incredible, I’d never really seen an actual piece before that showing and after going to the gift shop at the National Gallery and seeing some shotty reproductions I realized how great the real deal was. There’s something about the ambiguous and blank faces and lighting that I do see in some contemporary photographer’s work.
February 12th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I’m with you, Tom… Hopper’s color is spectacular. I never really paid attention to Hopper’s work, solely based on the familiarity of it, and much to my discredit and loss. The implications of his work as maudlin came about through the wide dissemination of reproductions of his paintings… they are likely to be found in a dentist’s office between a Norman Rockwell poster and office hours. Unfortunately, that how I knew his work best.
Thank GOD I came to know his work a little better, Early Sunday Morning and Nighthawks are important to me… through the filters of others and through Hopper’s direct work.