© COPYRIGHT by Can Gulan 2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED To my mother, father, and aunt. I thank them for always supporting and believing in me. EDWARD HOPPER’S URBAN LANDSCAPES: MODERN EXPERIENCE AND ALIENATION BY Can Gulan ABSTRACT Edward Hopper’s works are generally associated with alienation, but the sources of this feeling are not studied extensively and in a comprehensive manner. Hopper’s representation of deserted and bleak cityscapes focus on loneliness and isolation of urban centers to create this feeling of alienation, which is supported by subtle depictions of dangerous possibilities at night. This alienating modern experience is also related to the transition from rural to urban areas and the resulting adjustment period while this transition creates tensions between nature and civilization in Hopper’s works. Hopper’s use of light is another alienating aspect of his works, especially in artificially lighted scenes. Hopper also focused on new voyeuristic possibilities of urban life and the way he represented these qualities created alienating experiences for the viewers. All these aspects of Hopper’s works are contributing to the feeling of alienation and they are all related to the modern experience. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Helen Langa, who encouraged me throughout this process, helped me to better organize my arguments and supported my ideas with valuable feedbacks. I would also like to thank Dr. Juliet Bellow and Dr. Andrea Pearson for their contributions. Finally, I would like to thank all art history faculty and fellow graduate students of American University for the friendly and supportive atmosphere. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .......................................................................................................... v Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 2. MODERN EXPERIENCE ............................................................................................. 4 Urban Life ............................................................................................................... 4 Displacement......................................................................................................... 13 Nature and Civilization ......................................................................................... 16 3. LIGHT AND MEMORIES .......................................................................................... 24 Natural and Artificial Light .................................................................................. 24 Memories .............................................................................................................. 30 4. VOYEURISM .............................................................................................................. 35 5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 47 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 49 ILLUSTRATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 52 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: Edward Hopper, New York Corner (Corner Saloon), 1913, Oil on canvas, Private Collection ...................................................................................................................................... 52. 2: John Sloan, Picture Shop Window, 1907, Oil on canvas, The Newark Museum, New Jersey, United States ................................................................................................................ 52. 3: Edward Hopper, Drug Store, 1927, Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, United States ....................................................................................... 52. 4: John Sloan, Six O’Clock, Winter, 1912, Oil on canvas, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., United States....................................................................................................... 52. 5: Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning, 1930, Oil on canvas, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, United States ...................................................................................... 52. 6: Edward Hopper, Approaching a City, 1946, Oil on canvas, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., United States ................................................................................. 52. 7: Edward Hopper, Manhattan Bridge Loop, 1928, Oil on canvas, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, United States ................................. 52. 8: Edward Hopper, The City, 1927, Oil on canvas, The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona, United States ................................................................................... 52. 9: Georgia O’Keeffe, The Shelton with Sunspots, 1926, Oil on canvas, The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, United States ................................................................................... 52. 10: Edward Hopper, City Roofs, 1932, Oil on canvas, Private collection ............................... 52. 11: Charles Sheeler, Skyscrapers, 1922, Oil on canvas, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., United States....................................................................................................... 52. 12: Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927, Oil on canvas, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, United States ................................................................................................................ 52. 13: Vincent van Gogh, Café Terrace at Night, 1888, Oil on canvas, Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands ..................................................................................................... 52. 14: Edward Hopper, Sunlight in a Cafeteria, 1958, Oil on canvas, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, United States ...................................................................... 52. 15: Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942, Oil on canvas, The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, United States ................................................................................................................ 52. v 16: Edward Hopper, Night Shadows, 1921, Etching, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, United States ...................................................................................................... 52. 17: Edward Hopper, Summertime, 1943, Oil on canvas, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware, United States ............................................................................................... 52. 18: Edward Hopper, New York Pavements, 1924, Oil on canvas, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, United States .................................................................................. 52. 19: Edward Hopper, House by the Railroad, 1925, Oil on canvas, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States ............................................................................................. 52. 20: Edward Hopper, South Carolina Morning, 1955, Oil on canvas, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, United States ..................................................................... 52. 21: Edward Hopper, Seven A.M., 1948, Oil on canvas, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, United States ...................................................................................................... 52. 22: Edward Hopper, Gas, 1940, Oil on canvas, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States ............................................................................................................................ 52. 23: Edward Hopper, Railroad Crossing, 1922-1923, Oil on canvas, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, United States ..................................................................... 52. 24: Edward Hopper, Compartment C, 1938, Oil on canvas, IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York, United States ...................................................................................................... 52. 25: Edward Hopper, New York, New Haven, and Hartford, 1931, Oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States .................................................. 52. 26: Edward Hopper, Route 6, Eastham, 1941, Oil on canvas, Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, United States .................................................................................................. 52. 27: Edward Hopper, Shakespeare at Dusk, 1935, Oil on canvas, Private Collection ............. 52. 28: Edward Hopper, House at Dusk, 1935, Oil on canvas, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, United States .............................................................................. 52. 29: Edward Hopper, Sun in an Empty Room, 1963, Oil on canvas, Private Collection .......... 52. 30: Edvard Munch, Evening on Karl Johan Street, 1892, Oil on canvas, Rasmus Meyer Collection, Bergen, Norway ........................................................................................ 52. 31: Edward Hopper, Office