6: Audience Reconstruction (2/2)
[Click image for larger version]
Edward Hopper
Nighthawks, 1907-1908
Oil on canvas, w152.4 cm x h84.1 cm (152.4" x 60")
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
And the second piece offered up for your serious consideration from a "who are they trying to reach" perspective, the (in)famous Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth. As with Hopper's Nighthawks, I do end up thinking about this piece a lot as I work out my own composition ideas, and as with Nighthawks, this piece undeniably hit a nerve on its release and went on to become a staple of American pop culture. Why?
The questions from yesterday reposted for your convenience: What are the visual clues that indicate what sort of viewer Wyeth had in mind? Are you part of that group, and how do you know? What was Wyeth trying to say to his intended viewer? Regardless of whether you are/are not part of the intended audience, does this painting still 'work' for you, or speak to something you're familiar with? If it does, do you think that's accidental, or is some sort of universality built into the image? Where? What would cause this painting to not 'work' for a viewer?