Notes

The Secret Guide To Hopper’s Nighthawks
few weeks ago they asked for me to compose an essay on a painting by Hopper and one of the Nighthawks and I, being an experienced researcher, was able to find out. Because it is known or at the very least, taught by experience, in order to appreciate a painting it is necessary to know the history of the painting and the painter, and, most importantly, the setting in the which it was painted. Art is certainly an universal thing, that transcends the space and time, and therefore is recognizable in the midst of many centuries. The interpretations, however, are subject to change as society and the world change and what was once able to be seen clearly, possibly several years after, is not as obvious. What was unthinkable before now could be revealing the work to us in a different manner.

Re-meaning a work through time

This is similar to what I think happens when you look at Hopper's " Nighthawks" which was closed by the bar at evening, and in the window that resembles the inside of a fish tank, in the same position as the characters he observed.

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

The space, designed for an active viewer could be the keystone that allows the work to be reinterpreted over time and consequently to be timeless, immortal, modern, even very modern.

The painting, made in 1942, isn't immediately attributable to an exact historical moment however it appears that the date of its creation can change depending on the changing viewer, depending on the time in which the piece is seen.

I believe this is the key to reading, the time and space occupied to the reader Hopper desired to create.

I'll explain.

Researching nighthawks painting and news on Hopper's " Nighthawks" I was able to be aware of how many people have described the film by highlighting these aspects:

"[...] the feeling of being empty in an environment whose glistening patina begins to give way [...] The distinctly commercial character lies, the myths rip off their masks and reveal an unrealized reality, devoid of any valid reference points , immobilized by uncertainty and a lack of morality. "

The night and the transformation
I am of the opinion that this interpretation is not complete which means that it's an interpretation influenced by the social context and by the date that is attributed to the work: The United States between the 40s and 50s during the boom in economics that redefined social and cultural values in the lives of the people in a society that was even a little bourgeois, where nightclubs are viewed as places of solitude, despair and existential emptiness.

It's a little true, but it's not the whole truth.

The first time I saw this painting, without having studied it, it brought me joy and peace, with its vibrant contrast and quiet nocturnal quality.

Maybe, coming from the midst of a huge, noisy and bustling city, nighttime is one of those times when I can experience the city more calmly with fewer people in the area more cars and less noise, more spaces between the streets to appropriate, where to stay , under the starless urban sky. Night has a completely different meaning for 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 streets become more open and simple.

It is impossible to ignore the way society has evolved over the course of more than half a century of cultural and social changes. This is the case in between Pop and Rock culture, between the psychoedelic movement in the 1990s and 2000s.

As a girl in the 90s, I was also a night-time kid and by that I am referring to every one of the "formative" experiences that the night gave me. For me , it's normal to go out in the evening usually walking through the neighborhood on Saturdays , looking for the best nightclub, dancing till dawn, riding a motorbike or car to find the last bar open you can grab a bread or hot pizza and where you can drink the last glass and light the last cigarette before dawn was set. Perhaps from the 80s afterward, the night no longer in a way that scared those who stayed their homes (let's take a look at the anti-prohibitionism movement and jazz movement and the Cursed Poets, all perfect nights owls) and it has become the cradle where many personalities are able to enjoy the peace and comfort of other night hawks.

Hopper's contemporary Realism
Nowadays Hopper's painting reminds me of many scenes of real day life. It makes me feel satisfied and compassionate, especially with the last three characters, who exchange with the bartender as he is cleaning the bar to end a day and open another. Those nocturnes seek rest in the quiet of their nocturnal companions, contemplate their lives, watching their surroundings through a glass, and meet as a tribe in the night, welcoming everyone and judging no one. It's not a coincidence that in the oldest ancestral civilizations such as the Indian one, the half hour before dawn is called Brahmamuhurta which is also known as the time of Brahma the most ideal time to dedicate yourself to prayer, meditation, study and introspection. In this space of time the energy is more intense as well as intense but with tranquil, spiritual intensity.

There is no solitude nor empty space in Hopper's painting. I saw more of it in the gentrified streets of the night quarters, since even the right-thinking people started drinking in the evening.

So that, even the most famous and oldest areas had to be turned into marketplaces for consumers; and the spontaneous aggregations of people who gathered in the square were required to arrange themselves into lines waiting to be seated while the sound of the drums that played on the the street was silenced by police sirens. That scares me today that nighttime is shattered by its sacred timeless atmosphere and by the fact that it is an occasion of aggregation for the lone wolves, and is now an unintentional and productive element of the system that demands clarity and respectability even from the darkest corners in the city.

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