philipsenharris567902

a few weeks ago, they asked for me to compose an essay about one of the paintings by Hopper and the Nighthawks and I, as an excellent researcher, went to find out. Because it is known, or at least is taught by experience, to comprehend a painting one needs to know its history as well as the artist and above all the context within the which it was painted. It is surely something universal, transcendent to the space and time, and therefore accessible even after hundreds of years. The interpretations, however, alter, as does the way the world and society change and what used to be easily seen, maybe several years ago, is now evident. What was unthinkable before is now revealing the process to us in a different manner.Re-defining a piece of work in the course of timeThis is a bit like what I think happens when you see Hopper's " Nighthawks", closed at the bar late in the evening, and in the window that resembles an aquarium, from the same position as the characters he that are observed. https://openartimages.com/search/edward-hopper think that in the painting Hopper wanted to give space to the viewer, allowing him to observe the silent tranquil, precise and serene scene presented to us by the darkness.<img width="313" src="">This space, conceived for an active viewer may be the most important element that allows the work to change in the course of time, and to remain timeless, eternal contemporary, and modern.The painting, made in 1942, isn't immediately attributable to an exact date, but it seems that the date of its creation can change with the change of the viewer, depending on the moment at the period in which the work is viewed.I believe this is what is essential to reading, the time and space occupied by the observer that Hopper wanted to create.I'll explain.In my research for information and news about Hopper's " Nighthawks" I was able see how people describe the film by highlighting these aspects:"[...] the solitude, the feeling of being empty in a world whose shimmering patina starts to lose its luster. [...] The distinctly commercial element of the myths is that they peel off their masks and reveal a displaced reality, without any valid reference points Isolated by doubt and a lack of morality. "Night and transformationI think this interpretation is a little ambiguous which means that it is an interpretation given by the social context and by the dating associated with the work: it was the United States between the 40s and 50s during the period of economic growth that was redefining the cultural and social assets that were a part of the lives of individuals, a society that is even a bit bourgeois where nightclubs are viewed as places of isolation or despair.It's a little true, but slightly not.First time that I came across this painting, and without having studied it, it brought me a lot of happiness and peace with its bright contrast and its nocturnal stillness.Perhaps, as a resident of an extremely noisy and crowded city, nighttime is one of the moments that I am able to enjoy the city with more peace: fewer people around and fewer vehicles and less noise, more open spaces to appropriate, which place to rest under the city's starless sky. The night is a different meaning for me from those who went to bars in The United States during the 40s When the sun sets down the city changes its appearance and streets become more open and easy.We must not forget how society has changed over the course of more than half a century of cultural and social shifts, that occurred between Pop as well as Rock culture, between popular psychedelic scene as well as the decade 2000.Personally, as a daughter in the 90s, I was also a night-time kid, and by growing up I mean everything "formative" experiences that the night gave me. It is for me normal to go out in the evening usually walking around the neighborhood, and on weekends, searching for the most memorable nightclub, dancing till dawn and riding around on 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 and light the last puff before dawn arrived. From the 80s and onwards, the night stopped frightening those who stayed at the house (let's not forget the anti-prohibitionism movement and jazz movement and even the Cursed Poets all of them perfect evening owls) and it became the cradle where many personalities of the world find peace and comfort of other nighthawks.Hopper's modern realismNowadays Hopper's painting reminds me of numerous scenes from contemporary life, and makes me almost proud and in any case sympathetic, with the final three characters, who have an exchange of words while the bartender clears the bar in order to conclude the day and then open another. The nocturnes want to rest in the solitude of their nightly companions. They contemplate their lives, watching them through a glass and gather as a tribe of 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 half hour before sunrise is known as Brahmamuhurta which is also known as the time of Brahma the most ideal time to dedicate oneself to meditation, prayer as well as study and reflection. In this space of time the energy levels are higher, intense but of an ethereal, spiritual focus.There is no solitude nor empty space in Hopper's painting. I found more among the streets that were gentrified in the night quarters, as even the right-thinking people started going out at night.So that, even the most famous and oldest neighborhoods had to be transformed into marketplaces for consumers as the spontaneous gatherings of people who gathered in the square were required to arrange themselves in line, waiting for their turn to be seated; and the beat of the drums on the other side of the street was drowned out by police sirens. This is what worries me today that nighttime is desnatured by its sacred timeless atmosphere as an occasion of aggregation for lone wolves, and becoming an unintentional and productive element of the system, requiring transparency and respectability from the darkest corners in the city.