malding , they requested I write an article on a painting by Hopper as well as one of the Nighthawks and I, being an excellent researcher, went to learn more. Because it is known or at the very least, learned from experience, that to understand a painting, one must know its history, the author and above all the context within which he painted it. Art is certainly an universal thing, that transcends the space and time, which makes it readable in the midst of hundreds of years. However, the interpretations change, along with how society and the world evolve, and what previously could be seen clearly, possibly years later, is no longer evident. What was unthinkable before now could be revealing the work to us in a different manner.

Re-defining a work over time

This is similar to what I think happens when you see Hopper’s ” Nighthawks” which was closed by the bar late in the evening, and in the window, which resembles the inside of a fish tank, in the location of the characters that are that are observed.

I believe that , in this painting, Hopper wanted to give space to the viewer, allowing viewers to take in the quiet, detailed and calm scene presented to us by the dark night.

This particular space, created for an active audience, is perhaps the keystone that allows the artwork to be reinterpreted over time and consequently to be timeless, immortal and even modern.

The piece, which was created in 1942, is not immediately linked to a specific date, but it seems that its date can be altered with the change of the viewer, according to the exact time at the period in which the work is viewed.

I believe this is the key 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 observe how many describe it , highlighting the following elements:

“[…] the loneliness, the sense of emptiness of an environment whose glistening patina is beginning to fade. […] The distinctly commercial element of the myths is that they peel off their masks to reveal an unrealized reality, devoid of reliable sources of reference , immobilized by uncertainty and unconscience. ”

Night and transformation

I am of the opinion that this interpretation is a little ambiguous which means that it’s a interpretation provided by the social context as well as by the dates associated with the work that took place in it was the United States between the 40s and 50s, in the boom in economics that was redefining the social and cultural values in the lives of the people, a society that is even a bit bourgeois, where night bars are seen as places of loneliness or despair.

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

When I first came across this painting, without having studied it, it gave me a lot of peace and joy, thanks to its bright contrast and its quiet nocturnal quality.

Maybe, coming from the midst of a huge, noisy and bustling metropolis, the night is one of the moments where I can enjoy the city with more peace: fewer people around and fewer vehicles, less noise, more space between the streets to choose, and the best place to be, beneath the city’s starless sky. The night has a very different meaning for me from those who frequented bars in The United States during the 40s as the sun’s path down the city changes its face, the streets are more open and easy.

We must not forget how society has transformed itself through more than a half century of social and cultural shifts, between Pop and Rock culture, and between the popular psychedelic scene as well as the decade 2000.

Personally, as a child in the 90s, I have also grown up at night, and by growing up I’m referring to every one of the “formative” experiences that the night brought me. It is for me common to be out in the evening usually walking through the streets, and on Saturdays looking for the most memorable nightclub, dancing till dawn, riding a motorbike or car to locate the last bar that is open to grab the croissant or hot pizza or hot pizza, and then where to sip the last glass of wine and light the last cigarette before dawn came. Perhaps from the 80s afterward, the night no longer in a way that scared those who stayed their homes (let’s keep in mind the anti-prohibitionism movement and jazz movement and the Cursed Poets who were all great evening owls) and has since become the place where the majority of people of the world find comfort and peace of other night hawks.

Hopper’s modern Realism

Today, Hopper’s painting is reminiscent of many scenes of real contemporary life, and make me feel satisfied and sympathetic, with the three main characters who engage in a chat while the bartender is cleaning the bar to end the bar and begin a new. The nocturnes want to rest in the silence of their nightly companions. They reflect on their lives by watching them through a glass . They meet as a tribe in the night, accepting everyone and judging no one. It’s not a coincidence that in the most ancient civilisations, such as the Indian one the time between midnight and dawn is called Brahmamuhurta or the time of Brahma which is the ideal time to dedicate yourself to prayer, meditation as well as study and reflection. This is the time of day when the energy levels are higher and intense, but they are of a calm, 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 folks started drinking in the evening.

In other words, the most famous and oldest areas were transformed into showcases for the consumer; and the spontaneous aggregations of people in the square had to rearrange their groups in line waiting to be seated while the sound of the drums along the other side of the street was slowed by the police sirens. It is a worry for me now, that the night is degraded by its sacred , timeless atmosphere, by its being an occasion of aggregation for individuals, and by becoming an unintentional and productive element of the system, demanding transparency and respectability in the most secluded corners within the cities.