few weeks ago they asked me to write an article about one of the paintings by Hopper, the Nighthawks and I, being a good researcher, went to inform me. It is well-known or at the very least, taught by experience, to understand a painting, one must know its history, the author and above all the setting in the context in which Hopper painted it. It is surely an universal thing, that transcends the space and time, making it is recognizable after centuries. However, the interpretations change, along with how society and the world evolve, and what previously could be seen clearly, possibly decades after, is not evident. What was unthinkable before is now revealing our work in a completely different way.

Re-defining a piece of work in the course of time

This is similar to what I imagine happens when you see the work of Hopper’s ” Nighthawks” which was closed by the bar late in the late at night, with that window that resembles an aquarium, from the position of characters observed.

I think that in the painting Hopper was trying to open up space to the viewer, allowing him to look at the silent serene, well-detailed and peaceful scene given to us by the darkness.

The space, designed to be a place for active viewing may be the most important element that allows the work to be changed throughout time and, consequently, to remain timeless, eternal, modern, even very modern.

The piece, which was created in 1942, is not immediately linked to a specific time period However, it is believed that the date of its creation can change depending on the changing viewer, according to the time in which the work is observed.

In my opinion this is what is essential to reading, the space that is occupied by the observer that Hopper was hoping to create.

I’ll explain.

While researching information and news on Hopper’s ” Nighthawks”, I was able to be aware of how many people have described it by highlighting these elements:

“[…] the solitude, the feeling of being empty in the world that’s shimmering patina starts to lose its luster. […] The uniquely commercial essence lies, the myths rip off their masks and reveal an unrealized reality, devoid of reliable sources of reference , immobilized by uncertainty and lack of conscience. ”

The night and the transformation

I believe this interpretation is a little ambiguous and, therefore, it is an interpretation given by the social context as well as by the date that is attributed to the work of it was the United States between the 40s and 50s during the boom in economics which redefined the social and cultural values in the lives of individuals in a society that was even a little bourgeois, where nightclubs are viewed as places of solitude or despair.

It’s a little true, but slightly not.

When malding came across this painting, and without having studied it, it gave me lots of happiness and peace with its vibrant contrast and nocturnal stillness.

Maybe, coming from an extremely noisy and crowded city, nighttime is one of those times when I can experience the city with more peace with fewer people in the area, fewer cars and less noise, more open spaces to make the most of, and which place to rest under the night sky that is starless. The night is a different meaning for me from those who frequented bars in The United States during the 40s as the sun’s path down, the city transforms its appearance and the streets become more free and simple.

We cannot ignore how society has transformed itself over the course of more than half a century of cultural and social shifts, in between Pop as well as Rock culture, and between the popular psychedelic scene in the 1990s and 2000s.

Personally, as a child of the 90s, have also grown up at night, and by growing up I’m referring to everything “formative” experiences that the night gave me. For me it is always common to be out at night and walk through the neighborhood on Saturdays , looking for the perfect party, dancing until the early hours while riding a motorbike, or driving around in search of the last bar that is open to grab the bread or hot pizza, where to drink the last glass of wine and light the last cigarette before sunrise 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, jazz music and even the Cursed Poets all of them perfect night owls) and has since become the place where many of the prominent personalities of society find the comfort and peace of other night hawks.

Hopper’s contemporary Realism

Nowadays Hopper’s painting reminds me of numerous scenes from day life. It makes me feel happy and, in all likelihood, sympathetic, with the last three characters who engage in an exchange of words while the bartender clears the bar in order to conclude the bar and begin a new. The nocturnes want to rest in the solitude of their nightly companions. They reflect on their lives by watching their surroundings through a glass, and meet as a tribe in the night, welcoming everyone , and never judging anyone. It is no coincidence that in the oldest primitive civilizations like the Indian one that the time between midnight and sunrise is known as Brahmamuhurta which is also known as the time of Brahma which is the ideal time to devote oneself to meditation, prayer studying, and contemplation. This is the time of day when the energies are more acute as well as intense but with a calm, spiritual intensity.

There is no solitude nor absence in the painting of Hopper. I found more among the streets that were gentrified in the night quarters, as even the right-thinking folks started going out in the evening.

So that, even the oldest and most popular neighborhoods had to be transformed into showcases for the consumer as the spontaneous gatherings of people in the square had to rearrange themselves into lines waiting to get their turn; and the music of the drums that played on the side of the street was silenced by police sirens. It is a worry for me now because the night is degraded by its mystical, timeless ambience and by the fact that it is an occasion of aggregation for lone wolves, and becoming another uncover productive gear of the system, requiring the highest level of professionalism and clarity even from the darkest corners of the city.