132. Edward Hopper: Nighthawk Camera
atelier ying, nyc.
The spark for this design was a comment from Mark Strand's book of essays which mentioned that in most of Hopper's paintings the city asserts itself formally rather than realistically.
In this camera the bottom is not fully reconciled, just as in the Hopper painting "Nighthawks" (ca. 1942). It is left hanging along in its own unreconciled position in the camera's overall space or footprint. Its position at the bottom is like in a dirigible--- trailing ever so slightly behind the main action/activity of the photographer and his picture taking. As in the referent painting Nighthawks (c. 1942), the light makes up for the difference, "settling" the shape into its surroundings/environment, to borrow a concept from the game of Wei Chi.
With the thin lozenge-shaped diner housed in clear glass as its foot, the large dark heft of this camera almost seems suspended, reminiscent of Hong Kong's Jumbo Floating restaurant.
The viewfinder design has a split window view, indirectly borrowed from and in the style of the "a house without oku" by the esteemed architectural group Atelier Bow-Wow. I'm getting to understand that viewfinders for any camera related to Edward Hopper has to deal with the idea of the unattainable, which to me is an intrinsic experience of his paintings. 2/3 of the split view is directed forward to the camera's subject and 1/3 of the view is reflected up from inside the diner. The justification for this is to unite the top and bottom of the camera, as well as to subtly point out and contrast the traditional idea of a camera's interior being in total darkness, without light.
Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.
132. Edward Hopper: Nighthawk Camera
atelier ying, nyc.
The spark for this design was a comment from Mark Strand's book of essays which mentioned that in most of Hopper's paintings the city asserts itself formally rather than realistically.
In this camera the bottom is not fully reconciled, just as in the Hopper painting "Nighthawks" (ca. 1942). It is left hanging along in its own unreconciled position in the camera's overall space or footprint. Its position at the bottom is like in a dirigible--- trailing ever so slightly behind the main action/activity of the photographer and his picture taking. As in the referent painting Nighthawks (c. 1942), the light makes up for the difference, "settling" the shape into its surroundings/environment, to borrow a concept from the game of Wei Chi.
With the thin lozenge-shaped diner housed in clear glass as its foot, the large dark heft of this camera almost seems suspended, reminiscent of Hong Kong's Jumbo Floating restaurant.
The viewfinder design has a split window view, indirectly borrowed from and in the style of the "a house without oku" by the esteemed architectural group Atelier Bow-Wow. I'm getting to understand that viewfinders for any camera related to Edward Hopper has to deal with the idea of the unattainable, which to me is an intrinsic experience of his paintings. 2/3 of the split view is directed forward to the camera's subject and 1/3 of the view is reflected up from inside the diner. The justification for this is to unite the top and bottom of the camera, as well as to subtly point out and contrast the traditional idea of a camera's interior being in total darkness, without light.
Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.