Notes

The Secret For Hopper’s Nighthawks Revealed in 10 Simple Steps
few weeks ago they asked me to write an article on a painting by Hopper as well as one of the Nighthawks, and I, as an experienced researcher, was able to learn more. Since it is generally known or at the very least, learned from experience, that to comprehend a painting one needs to know its history, the author and most importantly the setting in the which it was painted. Art is definitely something universal, transcendent to time and space, making it readable after hundreds of years. The interpretations, however, change, along with how the world and society change and what was once able to be clearly seen, perhaps several years later, is no longer so obvious. What was unthinkable before now could be revealing our work in a totally different manner.


Re-meaning a work through time
It's a little like what I think happens when you look at Hopper's " Nighthawks" which was closed by the bar, late at night, in that window, which resembles an aquarium, from the same position as the characters he who were observed.

nighthawks painting believe that in the painting Hopper was trying to open up space for the viewer to allow him to look at the silent tranquil, precise and serene scene that we are presented by the darkness.

This particular space, created to be a place for active viewing, is perhaps the keystone that allows the artwork to be reinterpreted over time and consequently to be timeless, immortal contemporary, and modern.

The piece, which was created in 1942, is not immediately attributable to a precise date, but it seems that the date of its creation can change with the change of the viewer, depending on the time in which the piece is seen.

I believe this is what is essential to reading, the time and space occupied to the reader Hopper was hoping to create.

I'll explain.

While researching information and news on Hopper's " Nighthawks" I was able to observe how many describe it by highlighting these elements:

"[...] the loneliness, the sense of emptiness of a world whose shimmering patina starts to lose its luster. [...] The distinctively commercial character lies, the myths rip off their masks and reveal the world as a blurred reality, with no valid points of reference , immobilized by uncertainty and a lack of morality. "

The night and the transformation
I think this interpretation is partial, that is, it's an interpretation influenced by the social context as well as by the dating attributed to the work of it was the United States between the 40s and 50s during the economic boom which redefined the cultural and social assets that were a part of the lives of individuals in a society that was even a bit bourgeois, where nightclubs are viewed as places of loneliness and despair, as well as a sense of emptiness.

It's a little true, but slightly not.

When I first saw this painting, without having studied, it gave me joy and peace, with its bright contrast and quiet nocturnal quality.

Maybe, coming from the midst of a huge, noisy and bustling metropolis, the night is one of the moments that I am able to enjoy the city in a more peaceful way there are fewer people, fewer cars, less noise, more space between the streets to appropriate, where to stay , under the starless urban sky. The night has a very different meaning for me from the people who drank in bars across the United States during the 40s: when the sun goes down the city changes its appearance, and the streets are more open and easy.

We cannot ignore how society has transformed itself in more than half a century of cultural and social changes, that occurred between Pop as well as Rock culture, between psychoedelic movement and the 2000s.

As a girl of the 90s, was also a night-time kid, and by growing up I mean all the "formative" experiences that the night brought me. For me , it's common to be out at night and walk through the streets, and on Saturdays looking for the best party, dancing until dawn, riding a motorbike or driving around in search of the last bar open to get the bread or hot pizza and where you can drink the last glass of wine and light the last cigarette before sunrise came. From the 80s and onwards, the night stopped from frightening those who stayed their homes (let's keep in mind the anti-prohibitionism movement, jazz music and the notorious Cursed Poets, all perfect nights owls) and has since become the place where the majority of people are able to enjoy the comfort and peace of other night hawks.

Hopper's modern Realism
The painting of Hopper today reminds me of many scenes of real contemporary life, and make me feel satisfied and sympathize with the three main characters, who have a chat while the bartender cleans the bar to close the day and then open another. People who are nocturnal seek peace in the solitude of the nocturnal company, meditate on their lives observing them through a glass . They meet as a tribe in the night, accepting all and not judging anyone. It is no coincidence that in the oldest ancestral civilizations such as the Indian one that the half hour before sunrise is known as Brahmamuhurta which is also known as the time of Brahma the most ideal time to devote oneself to meditation, prayer studying, and contemplation. This is the time of day when the energy is more intense, intense but of a calm, spiritual intensity.

I don't see any solitude or empty space in Hopper's painting. I also found it among the gentrified streets of the night quarters. This is because even the right-thinking people started going out at night.

In other words, the most popular and historic neighborhoods had to be transformed into showcases for the consumer as the spontaneous gatherings of people who gathered in the square were required to arrange themselves into lines waiting to get their turn while the sound of the drums along the side of the street was drowned out by the police sirens. That scares me today because the night is degraded by its sacred timeless atmosphere as a moment of aggregation for lone wolves, and becoming an additional uncovering tool of the system, demanding transparency and respectability from the darkest corners of the city.

My Website: https://blog.openartimages.com/2021/09/29/a-night-out-with-hoppers-nighthawks/