Notes

Hopper’s Nighthawks Secrets That No One Else Knows About
A few weeks ago, they requested for me to compose an essay on one of the paintings by Hopper and one of the Nighthawks and I, being an experienced researcher, was able to inform me. It is well-known or at the least learn by experience, that to understand a painting, one must know its history as well as the artist and, most importantly, the context in the context in which Hopper painted it. Art is certainly something universal, transversal to the space and time, which makes it readable over the course of many centuries. The meanings change, along with how the world and society change, and what previously could be easily seen, maybe several years after, is not evident. What was never considered prior to, today could reveal the process to us in a totally different manner.

nighthawks 1942 hopper -defining a piece of work in the course of time
It's a little like what I think happens when you look at the work of Hopper's " Nighthawks" that was shut at the bar late in the late at night, with that window wich looks like the inside of a fish tank, in the same position as the characters he who were observed.

I believe that in this painting, Hopper was trying to open up space to the viewer, inviting viewers to take in the quiet serene, well-detailed and peaceful scene that we are presented by the night.

This particular space, created for an active audience, is perhaps the keystone that allows the work to change throughout time and, consequently, to remain timeless, eternal and even contemporary.

The piece, which was created in 1942, cannot be immediately linked to a specific date However, it is believed that its date can be altered depending on the changing viewer, according to the time in which the piece is seen.

My opinion is that this is the key to reading, the space that is occupied to the reader Hopper was hoping to create.

I'll explain.

While researching information and news on Hopper's " Nighthawks" I was able observe how many describe the film by highlighting these aspects:

"[...] the solitude, the feeling of being empty in a world whose shimmering patina is beginning to fade. [...] The distinctly commercial element lies, the myths rip off their masks and show the world as a blurred reality, with no reliable sources of reference in the face of uncertainty and unconscience. "

Night and transformation
I am of the opinion that this interpretation is not complete, that is, it's a interpretation provided from the socio-cultural context as well as by the dates attributed to the work that took place in the United States between the 40s and 50s, in the economic boom that redefined social and cultural values in the lives of individuals who lived in a society which is even a bit bourgeois where night bars are seen as places of loneliness or despair.

This is somewhat true and somewhat not.

The first time I saw this painting, without having studied it, it brought me a lot of happiness and peace with its bright contrast and nocturnal stillness.

Maybe, coming from an extremely noisy and crowded metropolis, the night is one of the times that I am able to enjoy the city more calmly: fewer people around, fewer cars, less noise, more open spaces to make the most of, and where to stay , under the city's starless sky. The night has a very different meaning to me than those who went to bars in America. United States during the 40s as the sun's path down and the city is transformed into its appearance, and the streets become more free and easy.

We cannot ignore how society has transformed itself in more than half a century of social and cultural shifts, in between Pop as well as Rock culture, between the psychedelic movement as well as the decade 2000.

As a girl in the 90s, I 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 normal to go out after dark usually walking through the streets, and on Saturdays looking for the most memorable party, dancing until the early hours, riding a motorbike or car to locate the last bar open to grab the bread or hot pizza or hot pizza, and then where to sip the last glass of wine and light the last puff before dawn came. From the 80s and to the present, nightlife stopped in a way that scared those who stayed their homes (let's take a look at the jazz movement, anti-prohibitionism and even the Cursed Poets who were all great nights owls) and it became the cradle where many personalities are able to enjoy the comfort and peace of other night hawks.

Hopper's contemporary realism
The painting of Hopper today reminds me of a variety of scenes from day life. It make me feel happy and, in all likelihood, compassionate, especially with the three main characters who engage in with the bartender as he is cleaning the bar to end a day and open another. People who are nocturnal seek peace in the solitude of the nocturnal company, meditate on their lives observing their surroundings through a glass, and form a group of the night, welcoming everyone , and never judging anyone. It's not a coincidence that in the oldest civilisations, such as the Indian one the half hour before dawn is called Brahmamuhurta, or time of Brahma which is the ideal moment to commit oneself to prayer, meditation as well as study and reflection. In this time, the energy is more intense as well as intense but with tranquil, spiritual intensity.


There is no solitude nor emptiness in Hopper's painting; I found more among the gentrified streets of the night quarters, as even the right-thinking citizens began going out in the evening.

So that, even the most famous and oldest areas were transformed into consumer showcases as well as the spontaneous aggregations of people who gathered in the square had to rearrange themselves into lines waiting to get their turn to be seated; and the beat of the drums that played on the other side of the street was slowed by police sirens. It is a worry for me now that nighttime is shattered by its mystical, timeless ambience as a moment of aggregation for individuals, and by becoming another uncover productive gear of the system that demands the highest level of professionalism and clarity even in the darkest parts in the city.

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