Notes

The key Code To Hopper’s Nighthawks. Yours, At no cost... Really
A few weeks ago, they requested me to write an article about one of the paintings by Hopper and the Nighthawks and I, as an excellent researcher, went to inform me. Because it is known or at the least learn by experience, that to comprehend a painting one needs to know its history, the author and, most importantly, the setting in which he painted it. Art is definitely something universal, transcendent to time and space, and therefore readable in the midst of many centuries. The meanings are subject to change as the world and society change and what used to be clearly seen, perhaps decades later, is no longer evident. What was not considered before, today could reveal the process to us in a different manner.

Re-defining a piece of work in the course of time
It's a little like the scene I see when you look at the work of Hopper's " Nighthawks" which was closed by the bar at night, in that window wich looks like a fish tank, in the same position as the characters he observed.

I believe that in this painting, Hopper wanted to give space to the viewer, allowing him to look at the silent tranquil, precise and serene scene that we are presented by the night.

This space, conceived for an active viewer could be the keystone, which allows the painting to be reinterpreted over time and consequently to be timeless, immortal contemporary, and modern.

The work, created in 1942, cannot be immediately attributable to a precise historical moment, but it seems that the date of its creation can change with the change of the viewer, depending on the moment at which the piece is seen.


My opinion is that this is the key to reading, the space dedicated by the observer that Hopper desired to create.

I'll explain.

In my research for information and news about Hopper's " Nighthawks", I was able to observe how many describe the film by highlighting these aspects:

"[...] the loneliness, the sense of emptyness of the world that's shimmering patina is beginning to fade. [...] The distinctively commercial essence of the myths is that they peel off their masks and show an unrealized reality, devoid of any valid reference points , immobilized by uncertainty and a lack of morality. "

Night and transformation
I think this interpretation is a little ambiguous which means that it's a interpretation provided from the socio-cultural context as well as by the date that is attributed to the work that took place in The United States between the 40s and 50s, in the economic boom that was redefining the cultural and social assets that were a part of the lives of the people who lived in a society which is even a bit bourgeois, in which nightclubs are seen as places of loneliness and despair, as well as a sense of emptiness.

edward hopper night in the park in a certain degree, and somewhat not.

First time that I saw the painting without having studied it, it brought me happiness and peace with its vibrant contrast and quiet nocturnal quality.

Perhaps, as a resident of the midst of a huge, noisy and bustling city, night is one of the moments when I can experience the city more calmly there are fewer people more cars as well as less noise. There are also more space between the streets to make the most of, and the best place to be, beneath the starless urban sky. The night is a different meaning for me than those who frequented bars in the United States during the 40s When the sun sets down and the city is transformed into its appearance and the streets are more open and easy.

nighthawk painting by edward hopper cannot ignore how society has changed over the course of more than half a century of cultural and social changes. This is the case between Pop as well as Rock culture, between the psychedelic movement as well as the decade 2000.

As a girl in the 90s, I grew up also at night and by "growing up" I am referring to every one of the "formative" experiences that the night brought me. It is for me normal to go out in the evening usually walking through the neighborhood on Saturdays , looking for the best party, dancing until the early hours, riding a motorbike or driving around in search of the last open bar where to get the croissant or hot pizza and where you can drink the last glass and smoke the last puff before dawn came. Maybe from the 80s afterward, the night no longer from frightening those who stayed the house (let's not forget the anti-prohibitionism movement, jazz music and even the Cursed Poets all of them perfect nights owls) and has since become the cradle where many personalities are able to enjoy the peace and comfort of other night hawks.

Hopper's modern Realism
Nowadays Hopper's painting reminds me of many scenes of real modern life. It makes me almost satisfied and sympathetic, with the final three characters who engage in with the bartender as he clears the bar in order to conclude the bar and begin a new. The nocturnes want to rest in the solitude of the nocturnal company, reflect on their lives by watching them through a glass . They form a group of the night, welcoming everyone and judging no one. It's no accident that in the most ancient civilisations, such as the Indian one, the time between midnight and sunrise is known as Brahmamuhurta, or time of Brahma, the best moment to commit oneself to prayer, meditation as well as study and reflection. In this time, the energies are more acute, intense but of an ethereal, spiritual focus.

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

In other words, the most popular and historic neighborhoods had to be transformed into consumer showcases; and the spontaneous aggregations of people who gathered in the square were required to arrange themselves into lines waiting to get their turn; and the music of the drums that played on the other side of the street was drowned out by police sirens. That scares me today that nighttime is degraded by its mystical, timeless ambience and by the fact that it is a moment of aggregation for lone wolves, and becoming an additional uncovering tool of the system that demands the highest level of professionalism and clarity even in the darkest parts in the city.

Here's my website: https://blog.openartimages.com/2021/09/29/a-night-out-with-hoppers-nighthawks/