ITALY: ACTOR DENNIS HOPPER REVEALS HIS ARTISTIC TALENTS ARE NOT LIMITED TO ACTING BY EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHS OF ITALIAN WALLS

Record ID: 387348

  • Title: ITALY: ACTOR DENNIS HOPPER REVEALS HIS ARTISTIC TALENTS ARE NOT LIMITED TO ACTING BY EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHS OF ITALIAN WALLS
  • Date: 7th December 1997
  • Summary: MILAN, ITALY DECEMBER 7, 1997 (REUTERS) PEOPLE INSIDE ART GALLERY LOOKING AT DENNIS HOPPER'S PHOTOGRAPHS HOPPER CHATTING TO PEOPLE VIEWERS MINGLING INSIDE GALLERY (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) DENIS HOPPER SAYING, "IT'S A PLEASURE FOR ME. I DON'T MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THIS, IT COSTS ME MONEY TO DO THESE PICTURES BUT I THINK THAT PHOTOGRAPHY IS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS WHICH WE ARE IN AND HOPEFULLY THESE THINGS WILL LAST BEYOND MY LIFE TIME. THAT'S WHY ARTISTS DO WHAT THEY DO BECAUSE THEY WANT TO CHEAT DEATH A LITTLE, AND LEAVE SOMETHING, CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING TO THE NEXT GENERATIONS." (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) (REPORTER ASKS HOPPER WHY HE CHOSE ITALY TO EXHIBIT PICTURES AND WHY WALLS?) HOPPER SAYING, "I THINK IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE WALLS AS BEAUTIFUL AS THEY ARE IN ITALY. I FIND THEM REALLY AMAZING I LIVE IN LOS ANGELES AND IN LOS ANGELES IF I TAKE A PICTURE OF A WALL, IT DEALS WITH A LOT OF GRAFFITI WHICH I CAN ENJOY TOO BUT ITALY HAS THE BETTINAS, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF WALLS IN HERE THAT WERE MICHELANGELO... FROM THE TIME THAT MICHELANGELO BUILT THE BUILDINGS THAT THE WALLS WERE TAKEN FROM. THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE THING FOR ME TO THINK OF THAT." (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) HOPPER SAYING, "I DID KNOW THAT LEONARDO DI VINCI SAID THAT THE ONE THING THAT HE COULDN'T ACHIEVE AS A PAINTER WAS THE BEAUTY OF A STAIN OF A TUSCANY WALL. BUT RIGHT THERE IS A STAIN OF A TUSCANY WALL NOW IF LEONARDO DI VINCI COULDN'T ACHIEVE THAT HE DID GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE IDEAS THROUGH HIS NOTEBOOKS OF HOW TO MAKE A CAMERA BECAUSE OF HIS STUDIES OF LIGHT AND THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE PLANETS AND SO ON." SHOTS OF EXHIBITS (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) HOPPER SAYING, "PAINTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY IS PART OF MAKING MOVIES. YOU HAVE SET DESIGN YOU HAVE COSTUME, YOU HAVE SOUND YOU HAVE MUSIC YOU HAVE WRITING, MOVIES ENCOMPASS ALL THE ARTS. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO GET MONEY SOMETIMES TO MAKE FILMS AND I'M A COMPULSIVE CREATOR, IT JUSTIFIES MY BEING ALIVE SO I DO IT AND I HAVE MORE TIME TO DO THIS THAN TO MAKE MOVIES BECAUSE I CAN'T ALWAYS GET THE FINANCING FOR THE FILMS I WANT TO MAKE." VARIOUS SHOTS OF EXHIBITION
  • Embargoed: 22nd December 1997 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MILAN, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVAE0LQKW1MQ6L3FK521T9VJEE13
  • Story Text: - American actor Dennis Hopper proved he's a man of many talents when he exhibited his latest art work - photographs of walls - at an art gallery in Milan.

    The actor, who is known to paint, sculpt and take photographs, explained that the 24 photos on show, depicting close-ups of walls, had been taken while on a trip to Italy in 1996.

    Hopper said he chose Italian walls because he found it hard to imagine walls as beautiful anywhere else.

    "I find them really amazing. I live in Los Angeles, and if I take a picture of a wall, it deals with a lot of graffiti - which I can enjoy too - but Italy has the Bettinas, he said.

    Bettina, an Italian painter in Milan in 17th century, is best known for his paintings of flowers and fruits.

    Hoppers fascination with "abstract impressionism" began as a farmboy in Kansas, United States, where he said he spent hours alone gazing into wheat fields.

    In 1961 Hopper held his first solo photographic exhibition and since then has shown his work all around the world, though his art has never been a total success.

    In 1971, "Bomb Drop", a sculpture depicting a bomb-release switch from a World War Two aircraft was said to allude to anti-war activism and Pop banality. It was met with a frosty reception from art critics.

    Following the critics' rebuff, Hopper chose to return to films and went off and made "Easy Rider." Hopper explained that he has continued with his art through the years because he is a compulsive creator. He says it justifies his existence, especially when he's not always successful in finding funds to finance movie projects.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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