Blue Beach Art Criticism 4/2/13

Art 3083 dennotative & connotative

1: Define Mimetic below: adjective 1. characterized by, exhibiting, or of the nature of imitation or mimicry: mimetic gestures. 2. mimic or make-believe, Dictionary.com imitating something: relating to or practicing imitation, e.g. in artistic or literary mimesis, Bingdictionary.com Mimesis is the accurate portrayal of nature, or of objects. Trump loil, or fooling the eye into believing what it has percieved is indeed a correct representation, interpretation of reality. The artists ability to make their painting, sculpture, drawing, etc. appear "real". 2. Directly below, make a detailed denotative list of this image. Use a list format, but look closely at the artwork for a detailed list of items you see (minimum of 10 things). 1: Typewriter 2: Desk 3: Office 4: Chair 5: Telephone 6: Female person 7: Male Person 8: File Cabinet 9: Window 10: Green Lamp 11: Door 12: Green Carpet 3. Try your hand at exploring the "connotative" meanings of the details you recorded in your "denotative" listing. Directly below, copy and paste your denotative list from above. Then, beside each denotative item, list a connotative meaning as described above. 1: Typewriter; A: The typewriter may connote that the "office" we see depicted is a shared one, where the "secretary" and "boss" share the same space. It may imply that the office is one where alot of paperwork is necessary. 2: Desk; B: The desk at which the man sits is represents his status in the heirarchy of the business. To have ones own office and desk speaks of a certain status. 3: Office; C: The office, as previously mentioned, carries with it a certain amount of status. It represents that the male character has some "import". 4: Chair, D: The chair propping the door speaks to the fact that there are instances where others may come calling in this office but since it is being used as a doorstop it conveys that this is an infrequent occurance. 5: Telephone, E: The phone,

now considered a commonplace item, at this time, tells us that this particular office is important enough to merit its own line. 6: Female person, F: The woman in this painting also plays into the status of the office. Either the male is well off enough to have an empoloyee of his own, or his position in a company is important enough to dedicate another worker to. 7: Male Person, G: The male, being dressed in a business suit, with vest, tells us that this person is a man of some means whose job merits being dressed in a very professional manner. 8: File Cabinet, H: The cabinet being as large and apparently full, as the protruding papers from the open drawer indicate, tells us that this office is focused on record or information keeping of some fashion. 9: Window, I: The window being open shows us that the time of year is one that is temperate, spring, summer, as otherwise it would be closed. The plain drab drawsting shade suggests that the office is purely business. 10: Green Lamp, J: This style of lamp has come to be associated with the keeping of long or late hours. Nearly all movies of this time frame, if they show a lamp of this sort, have it as a prop for business people who work well beyond the cliche 9-5. 11: Door, K: The door being open is another tip as to the season of the painting. The thing that stands out the most to me about the door however, is the fact that it has no name or indicator on it as to what it leads to. 12: Green Carpet, L: The green carpet tying in with the lamp, door insert left of the female and file cabinet, gives cohesion in a tonal sense but physically I get the feeling that it is representative of monetary undertones of the entire office setup. 1. Why do you think Hopper included the detail of the paper on the floor? Who do you think will pick it up and why? How do the changes from the drawing to the painting change how you read the work? Be detailed and specific. My supposition is that Hopper put the paper in as a focal point. It is where the attention of the gaze of the female in the painting is directed. It also just happens to be in the dead center of the composition. It is used not only as a guide to the eye of the woman but also as a resting or final point of the eye of the observer. The angular quality of the paper is one that is repeated over and over in the work. 2. What do you think the connotative meaning is concerning this piece of paper? How do the changes in the way the man and woman are positioned affect the interpretation you get? Be specific and explain. From the way that the woman is looking at the peice of paper, her proximity to it and the fact that she is at the file cabinet give me the impression that the paper is something that the male dropped. The paper is something that has been overlooked by the male, just as he appears to be deep in thought or oblivious to his surroundings the paper continues this expression in that it is something forgotten or not worthy of his attention. It conveys also that these are the type of things that the female is adept at discovering, taking care of and

represents her station. 3. What would your answer be if Hopper had placed the man and woman in a different context, for example a garden or on a street corner? Explain specifically why. Had Hopper placed the figures in a different setting it would have drastically altered the relationship between the two and the context for the paper (focal point) would need new explaination as well. In a different setting or if one were to change where each of the figures could give a tremendously different connotation to the entire peice. If the male were gazing at the paper and the female were apparently aloof in thought we would percieve it very differently. If the paper were under the foot of the man we see and neither figure were aware of it, the consequence would disappear. The interrelation of the two figures depends entirely on the fact that they are in this office setting. Even if we put them in a different kind of room all meanings and suggestions would alter. 4. Another way of analyzing the relationship between the man and the woman is on the basis of power. All societies depend on the control and structuring of power relationships. Identify the different types of power represented in the painting. Who or what authorizes these types of power? Expand your answer to explain. The power of the male figure is represented in the fact that he is in a seated position and behind a desk. Think of any situation you have ever encountered with an individual of power or import...they nearly all are behind some sort of barrier and those in control always have the liberty of being more casual, in this case, seated. There is the power imbued by business stature represented in this work, boss to employee. The latent 1940's power trip of men over women. The power of sexualization, having the female, though in a nice dress, composed of voluptuous curves and skin tight attire. Power is expressed also in the fact that the male is oblivious to the actions that the woman is engaged in. One only ignores movement, or activity if one is secure in their power to do so. 5. In analyzing the painting in this way, what types of aesthetic theories are we demonstrating in the denotative description? What theories did you represent in your connotative reading of the work? Be specific and give examples to support what you say. In the purely denotive description we exhibit Formalistic analysis and Intentionalism. Formalism would of necessity incorporate the listing of objects within the peice as a matter of classification. Intentionalism

comes into play because all of the objects that one can or has listed are put there on purpose by the commiting artist. One might also argue that the listing of the component falls into Viewer and Artist centric interpretations of the work. Formally though, if we don't make mention of the objects in a Naturalistic type painting we cannot discuss the use of composition, line, form and content. Since the list contains objects depicted in the painting it automatically insinuates intentionalism. For the connotative interpretation one can pull from number of differing methods. Obviously one can incorporate Feminism, & Marxism because we have the classic 40's subjugation of the female sex and also the oppression of the worker by the evil bourgeouise boss man.