by Gene Hoffman
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ART OF THE GAMES ROOM
1976 OLYMPICS ⎔ COWBOY ⎔ DENVER FLOOD ⎔ JACKSON HOLE ⎔ MYSTERIES ⎔ NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW ⎔ SKI BROADMOOR ⎔ STEAMBOAT SKI POSTER ⎔ STEAMBOAT SPRINGS ⎔ VAIL LAST RUN
APPEARANCE
In this one shot within the games room, from 21:30-21:35.
IDENTITY
A ski poster by Gene Hoffman, possibly for the 1976 Denver Olympics (Hoffman did some posters for the (canceled) event, but none that are exactly this piece), but definitely for Colorado, appears behind Danny’s head in the games room, while he’s throwing darts, very out of focus. Hoffman wasn’t simply an ad copy guy, but did his own art, including found art, and eventually became an art professor at the University of Northern Colorado.
I’ve been in contact with Hoffman’s close relations, who are continuing to exhibit his work. They cannot locate the original for this piece, but are as certain as I am that it is his work, and that this piece likely features a skier taking a picture from a tripod/flash stick. That would make another chip in the pile of camera imagery associated with Danny.
SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE
The Denver olympics is an interesting story: it’s the only case of a city being granted the olympics, and then the citizenry democratizing it out of existence. I won’t repeat how this impacts my Grady Twin Paintings theory, so head here for more.
Although, perhaps it’s worth mentioning here how Kubrick cited Freud’s theory of the uncanny, Das Unheimliche, as part of his “justification” for wanting to make a horror film. In that theory, Freud draws upon a short story called The Sandman, about a scholar becoming infatuated with a young woman who turns out to be a robot, basically, which drives him to a kind of suicide. His horror at coming upon this alive-seeming woman with her eyeballs dropped out of her head is such a shock that it destroys the scholar’s brain, rendering him unrelatable to the more normal people in his life. The robot woman’s name is Olimpia (the alcohol that kills the 237 ghost in the novel is called Olympia), and a good friend who tries to save the hero from insanity is named Lothar (the 237 ghost is named Lorraine Massey in the novel, and Lorraine comes from the name of a place that was known as Lotharingia – a short-lived middle country between what became Germany and France, after the split up of the Frankish empire). And the author of The Sandman was named ETA Hoffman. So having a “Hoffman” show up behind Danny in his first moment inside the hotel, with the eyes of the uncanny Grady twins behind him seems apt.
Also, the Olympics are said to have been founded by Herakles, who killed his wife and children upon hearing of his demigod state.
Also, anyone familiar with my Redrum Road theory, will recall this piece seems to have a connection to Yellow Submarine by The Beatles.
MIRRORFORM SIGNIFICANCE
This piece likely mirrors over another painting with an Olympics connection, but, again, that’s the Grady Twin Paintings theory. Head there for more on that.
Next art reference: Mysteries of the Games Room
MAIN PAGE ⎔ SECTION PAGE ⎔ SITE MAP ⎔ GLOSSARY
OTHER MAIN PAGES FOR SHINING ANALYSIS
THE MIRRORFORM ⎔ THE BEATLES ⎔ THE RUM AND THE RED
BACKGROUND ART ⎔ OVERLOOK PHOTOGRAPHS ⎔ GOLDEN SPIRALS
PHI GRIDS ⎔ PATTERNS ⎔ VIOLENCE AND INDIGENA ⎔ ABSURDITIES
THE STORY ROOM ⎔ ANIMAL SYMBOLS ⎔ THE ANNOTATED SHINING
EYE SCREAM 