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Section 2: AT HOME: Research Point

Unusual and Multiple Viewpoints in Interiors

An old favourite of mine immediately comes to mind: Edward Hopper. I have always loved the starkness and the feeling of loneliness that Hopper managed to express in his room scenes. The outside juxtaposing with the inside.

Rooms by the Sea has no figure in it and still manages to capture the same sense of isolation - as if the light has no place in being there.
Rooms by the Sea, 1951

Hopper, Edward. Rooms by the Sea, 1951

Then I found this British artist's work that I instantly fell in love with.

Ivon Hitchens, ‘Balcony at Cambridge’ 1929

Ivon Hitchens, Balcony at Cambridge, 1929

More than painting the light the feeling of sunshine and freshness of the day, the artist has captured a moment so that the viewer feels as if he is seated on the chair that would be to the left of the table. But it is the warping of the perspective that really justifies the visual elements and brings about a sense of being there - we don't really see the world in straight lines, the ones we learn about in linear perspective. The view of things is always skewed by how we feel, how busy or at peace we are and through the tentative glances we give as we move through it.  

Ivon Hitchens, ‘Winter Stage’ 1936
 Ivon Hitchens, Winter Stage, 1936

The fragmented works of interiors by Allison Pullen left me wondering if I should have my eyesight checked:
Image result for Unusual and Multiple Viewpoints in Interiors in art contemporary

Allison Pullen, Merchant Taylors Hall, Parlor  1993

But again they offer a more "realistic" view of the way we observe the world - many images bombarding our brains at once: glances, impressions, colour, reflections. It felt to me the way you feel when you enter a new place - taking in everything at once to get a feeling of where you are...loved it!

I do enjoy Anthony Green's works: I loved the bird's eye view of the interiors - it felt to me as if we are getting a sneak look into peoples lives, seeing things about them that were hitherto hidden and secret.
But at the same time - we are taking in all the details of the room from every possible angle, giving us the whole picture in one setting.



Anthony Green

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