Night Spots of The Arts
Norman Rockwell’s Prom Night Vs. Vincent Van Gogh’s Night Café
When it comes to the art of studying the basic human condition, very few places serve as a better classroom than the local “hang outs” of the day. If a stranger to Happy Valley spent a weekend visiting such places as The Diner, Indigo and Irving’s they would come away with a fairly accurate view of the subcultures, activities and issues that encompass Penn State. Similarly, Van Gough’s Night Café and Norman Rockwell’s Prom Night present the viewer with images of popular cultural centers. However, with the variations in style that the artists provide, the viewer is given a greater insight and perspective. Instead of seeing a photograph or even patronizing these locations themselves, the viewers see these images from behind the eyes of the artists and, therefore, are able to extract greater meaning from the images presented to them.
True to Rockwell form, Prom Night would have us live in a much simpler world. Even Rockwell’s style is fairly simplistic. However, this simplicity serves a purpose. From his realistic depiction of human form to the utter familiarity of a local diner, Rockwell practically forces his audience to recall moments of their own life and place themselves in the scene. One of the most interesting aspects of this painting, and Rockwell’s art in general, is his ability to maintain a true-to-life portrayal of the human form while still discretely adding cartoon-like exaggerations. For instance, the gangly depiction of the soda jerk behind the counter with wide-spread arms, an open stance and an impossibly large smile provides a certain humor to this work and causes the viewer to feel as if the soda jerk is about to summon him over to the girl’s corsage with a quick “Hey kid, come look at this." In the end, Rockwell paints this work with the same style he wants his viewer to see life- it is pure and honest with a realistic depiction of the subject matter yet there is an undeniable sense of good-natured humor. While Rockwell could technically be categorized as a realist, I would argue that “idealist” is a much more appropriate adjective. The average person recalls their Prom Night as an awkward mixture of teenage angst and sexual frustration, yet Rockwell shows us Prom Night the way that we would like to remember it- filled with innocence and puppy love, without a trace of doubt or tension.
Rockwell almost shields his audience from life’s harsher truths and is sharply contrasted by Van Gough in his work Night Café .If Rockwell is an “Idealist,” it is safe to say that Van Gough is a pessimist. Van Gogh’s depiction of the human condition is hardly innocent or puritanical. Instead, we are faced with the concept of human self-destruction. The distorted images of a sparsely populated bar, where more costumers are left drinking alone than with company, suggests that unlike Rockwell, Van Gogh is not content with his lifestyle or the actions of his fellow man.
Van Gogh’s choice in color scheme seems to be a comment on human darkness and contradiction as well. The harsh contrast between the red and green of the walls and ceiling is not at all aesthetically pleasing and the light emanating from the lamp is sharp an unforgiving. The wide brush strokes and disregard for separating one figure from the next makes the viewer feel as if they are in a haze - or perhaps even in a drunken stupor of their own. The people are vaguely and unrealistically portrayed as if who they are doesn’t really matter, they simply represent human failure. That, combined with the distorted pool table and excessive amount of liquor bottles in the background, leaves the viewer feeling a sense of hopelessness. These trivial pleasures are nothing compared to human companionship, which none of the patrons seem to have.
A common tie between both of these artworks is the artist’s portrayal of ordinary people. This concept was neoteric in Van Gogh’s time. Van Gogh and his fellow impressionists were the first to really be able to paint ordinary people because, for the first time, ordinary people were becoming a common audience for art. Yet, these two artists had very different perspectives of the common man. Half a century after Van Gough, Rockwell was portraying the common man as having a sense of righteousness and glamor. Whereas Van Gogh clearly has no sympathy for the plight of “ordinary people,” as his subjects seem to be drinking themselves into the obscurity of the night.
It is also clear that Van Gogh wants his subjects to have maintain their anonymity. He takes certain details, such as the customers’ faces or the actual shape of the liquor bottles, for granted. On the other hand, Rockwell takes great pride in the seemingly mundane details. For example, the viewer can clearly make out the blackboard filled with the diner’s daily specials that frames the image of the young couple conversing with the soda jerk. Yet, Van Gogh hardly leaves us with enough detail to determine gender. This disregard for detail has us feeling as though we are in a dream, as opposed to a familiar reality, and opens the door for greater interpretation on behalf of the viewer.
Regardless of style, purpose, or era these paintings reinforce the universal truth that common, middle class meeting places are where one can discover the bare truths of the human condition. By observing Rockwell’s diner, Van Gogh’s Cafe, or even State College’s Dunkin’ Donuts we can take away real human emotion and a larger understanding of social truths. This concept brings about the realization that the easiest way to come to a greater understanding of humanity is to simply observe what is happening around us during those everyday moments, at times when our actions and surroundings appear the most common, average or mundane.
