In the poem "Edward Hopper and the House by the Railroad," the poet, Hirsch, describes both the artist, Hopper, and his painting of a house by the railroad tracks. What is the relationship of the artist to the art, in Hirsch's opinion? Consider these lines: "[The house] is so desperately empty, / It must have done something to the sky / Because the sky, too, is utterly vacant / And devoid of meaning" and "[All the things this man paints] will have this same expression, / The utterly naked look of someone / Being stared at, someone American and gawky. / Someone who is about to be left alone / Again, and can no longer stand it."

a. The artist creates representations of an idealized world in which he hopes to live.
b. The artist projects his feelings of alienation onto the paintings he creates.
c. The artist believes that art is meaningless.
d. The artist paints things that are precise and photographic.