http://socialistreview.org.uk/286/edward-hopper-all-lonely-people
His paintings don't invite you in - they are full of shadows and dark places as well as patches of harsh, bright light. But they are very rarely hospitable or welcoming - instead they seem to throw you back, to reject your gaze and ask you instead to examine what it is that you are feeling about what is in front of you.
Take 'Gas'. The petrol station on the empty road seems about to close down. The lights from the hut are almost fluorescent. The petrol pumps are garish splashes of red against a dense, dark background. The trees are solid and impenetrable - only the road continues, but it quickly disappears behind the building and there is no sign at all of where it might lead, if indeed it leads anywhere. And then there is the solitary, half-hidden figure. Is he turning off the pump, or hiding?It is impossible to tell.
The only thing that is certain is that he is alone. His loneliness is shared by all the people in hoppers paintings. His paintings are very carefully planned out, look simple and have a deep emotional message about loneliness, which links in with the main theme I want to create.
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