Alastair Noble: Message in a Bo(a)ttle Hopper & Boating

Conceived by the British artist Alastair Noble, this exhibition is inspired by Hopper’s youthful obsession with boating and his remarkable discovery of a message in a bottle by the river when he was sixteen. [Significantly, Hopper kept the bottle and his correspondence with the man who wrote the message, which are currently on display at the Hopper House.] Featuring flotillas of paper boats suspended from ceilings and running across gallery floors, Noble’s installation will also include “messages:” each boat will contain a phrase written by an author who Hopper admired. To evoke the atmosphere of river life, the installation will be punctuated by recordings made from the Hudson. Hopper’s own engagement with boating will be further represented by a remarkable selection of drawings of sailboats and other sea craft that he made as a young man.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.