My "Ex-" and I visited with his grandmother and my dear friend, Marie this past weekend. It's a ritual that I suggested over a decade ago now, and which has continued in spite of his departure from our relationship. Marie is a joy and treasure that I would not lose casually.
At the end of our visit, J. handed me a package of post cards, cards, and images. Among them was this Hopper painting.
Among American artists whom I revere (Charles Burchfield, Winslow Homer, Georgia O'Keeffe) Edward Hopper will always hold a seat in the upper tier. And this painting in particular has long been a favorite.
There is the couple. The virile if sterile man, with the less than virile woman, restrained, suggestive of a past time when "voluptuosity" was a virtue. It's a couple trapped in sexual ambiguity and angst. Together they are almost simple extensions of the carefully laid out architecture of the house. And beyond them.... there is the mysterious and wild woods, the gentle and unkempt yard, and most important of all, the curious and noble collie. In a stance that is both suggestive of it's roles as their protector and their servant, yet ready to bolt away toward its own freedom.
Now how can you or anyone not love an artist whose seemingly staid paintings possess so much energy, power, contradiction, and possibility? This is what art is all about.
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