The dude seemed everywhere. For the last several decades, he was always lurking somewhere. In a movie, at an art opening, Cannes, taking photos, hobnobbing with A-list artists, Venice... Even though he was known primarily as an actor, he really was one of us, and by that I mean culture junkies. The difference was that he created and digested. He never really stopped either. Even when he wasn't working on a film, Dennis Hopper was taking pictures, making art, or hanging out with like-minded friends.
"There are moments that I've had some real brilliance, you know. But I think they are moments. And sometimes, in a career, moments are enough. I never felt I played the great part. I never felt that I directed the great movie. And I can't say that it's anybody's fault but my own ... I am just a middle-class farm boy from Dodge City and my grandparents were wheat farmers. I thought painting, acting, directing and photography was all part of being an artist. I have made my money that way and I have had some fun. It's not been a bad life."
He really did just about everything...but music. Which made it hard to justify this post, on a music blog. But, my hesitation was quickly overridden when I found an mp3 of my favorite line from "Blue Velvet" (see link below).
"There are moments that I've had some real brilliance, you know. But I think they are moments. And sometimes, in a career, moments are enough. I never felt I played the great part. I never felt that I directed the great movie. And I can't say that it's anybody's fault but my own ... I am just a middle-class farm boy from Dodge City and my grandparents were wheat farmers. I thought painting, acting, directing and photography was all part of being an artist. I have made my money that way and I have had some fun. It's not been a bad life."
He really did just about everything...but music. Which made it hard to justify this post, on a music blog. But, my hesitation was quickly overridden when I found an mp3 of my favorite line from "Blue Velvet" (see link below).
Dennis Hopper (re: beverages) mp3 sound bite, from "Blue Velvet"
(I would turn this one up all the way, so the whole office can hear it.)
The Byrds - Wasn't Born to Follow mp3 (from "Easy Rider") at Groovers Paradise
(NOTE: The quote above was lifted from Groovers Paradise)
Roy Orbison - In Dreams mp3 (from "Blue Velvet") at Fuck Yeah, Go Team
Steppenwolf - The Pusher mp3 (from "Easy Rider") at KinoSport
More Blue Velvet soundbites at LynchNet
Dennis Hopper : Photographs 1961 - 1967 at Taschen Books
(Check the index to skip to his photography)
Dennis Hopper article at the N.Y. Times
Dennis Hopper obituary at the N. Y. Times
3 comments:
I still have that poster you brought back from NYC. I have very mixed feelings toward Hopper. He may have been a culture junkie, but the jury's still out - for me, anyway - concerning his art (films, paintings, photos, all of it). But a big retrospective is planned this year, so it will give me a chance to look/think about it again. One of my favorite movie quotes of his is from the River's Edge, and has to do with a glazed donut--know the one?
(Heinecken was a huge influence; Hopper less so, that's for sure).
Ever see The Cool School? It's a documentary about the Ferus Gallery from early 1960s Venice. Hopper is in it and narrates. Added a new dimension to my understanding of him. You can stream it on Netflix.
I happened to see this Warhol screen test at MALBA in Buenos Aires (the linked version comes from Dean & Britta's trbute):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTwtMronb4U
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