Experimental Sound Brief

For this brief we were all given a painting as a starting point to go away and research and use as a base for my project. My first thought was to research the painting, the man behind the painting, and the time that he lived in to gain a full understanding of the painting.

My painting was Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper:

I had a look on a website that presented facts about the painting and the method Hopper takes to this work:

http://totallyhistory.com/nighthawks/

The writer of the article named Hopper as a historian, and that he used painting and drawing as his method for recording history, due to his many works on the state in which he lived in America. I took a look at some of his other paintings as well and I think I agree with that statement:

Gas (1940)

New York Movie (1939)

A few quick notes I made about Nighthawks as my pre-analysis:

• Hopper has a very great consideration of light, and edges in his painting.
• He depicts a night scene at a time when wearing suits and smoking was very fashionable.
• The area surrounding the diner is quite scarce and empty, which I consider odd since nightlife in his home town was surely more populated than that.

Those are my preliminary thoughts for now, though I think I'll do a much more broad search over the next few days.