E. Rodriguez: Field Exercise 5

Work: Cape Cod Afternoon by Edward Hopper

The painting is of a house in Cape Cod, where Hopper spent his summers in the later years of his life. It was the last canvas he painted outside, and due to the amount of time it took to paint it Hopper was dependent on memory to render the seasonal effects.

I saw Cape Cod Afternoon in the Carnegie Museum, and the reason ended choosing this painting is because the calming effect it had on me. The depiction of the house is very simple; it could be any house in any part of rural america during the summer. The painting reminded of summers I used to spend at my grandparents house. I felt like I could understand the atmosphere Hopper was trying to get across, and that's why it had an impact on me.

Experience and Response

The first thing I felt when I saw Cape Cod Afternoon was calmness; the painting makes me feel nostalgic for when I spent my summers at my grandparents house. The painting itself is very simple and divided into two sections; the house is composed of geometric shapes while everything else–the sky and clouds, the grass, the trees–and less strict and have a "fluffier" feel to them. Though there is contrast between the house and the environment, doesn't clash but instead harmonize to contribute to the tranquility of the piece. The colors as well, while not exactly dull, are subdued, with the grass having the most vibrant color in the entire piece. The combination of these elements help to draw the audience and let them slowly take in the landscape instead of pushing the atmosphere onto them. Finally, the view of the house is on an angle; the audience sees it from one side while the farther right you look, the house appears to be getting smaller. This is to help make the painting dimensional, as well as giving the illusion that the house surrounded by more land.

Product

My original idea was to mimic Hopper's style and recreate my grandparents house from basic geometric shapes in photoshop. When I realized the limitations of doing so under an hour, along with my inexperience with photoshop, I decided to go for a simpler approach. I pasted Cape Cod Afternoon into photoshop and begin adjusting the photo until the atmosphere resembled how I remembered my grandparents house. This major point was to adjust the lighting to make the time look like midday as opposed to afternoon. I also added two black labs to the painting, representing the multiple dogs my grandparents had over the years, particularly during the summers of my childhood. Finally, while I have been to their house in the last couple years, my picture of my grandparents house is different than what the house looks like to me now. That's why I added a blurred effect to the painting; though I can see the image, it's not as clear in my mind. The blurring presents the scene as a memory.

Reflection

I do think I was able to capture my experience of Cape Cod Afternoon. It primarily provoked memories in of the childhood summers at my grandparents house, and I was able to depict how the direct painting resembled those memories. However, I wish I had been able to do more. The house doesn't exactly resemble my grandparents (their's is only one-story) so I wish I'd been able to cut it down to that level. I'm also curious as to how well I would have been able to integrate a picture of my grandparents house with the painting, to show how the one inspires the other in my mind. And with my original idea, I wonder me directly mimicking Hopper's style but using their house as a model would have turned out. These ideas probably would've required more time and experience with photoshop, however.