Nighthawks by Edward Hopper
The message an artist want to send varies widely. Sometimes we view scenes of joy and relaxation, other times we get an imminent sense of danger, still others capture specific societal developments. Before we start fine oil painting reproductions of your favourite American art.
Edward Hopper’s masterpiece Nighthawks belongs to this last category. It depicts a diner at night on a corner in New York city. The diners is almost empty, with only 3 patrons there, one couple and a single man. The diner attendant can be seen behind the counter, basically encircled by this same. None of the people in the diner seem very talkative, as they all seem preoccupied with their own thoughts. Meanwhile, the streets outside are empty.
Edward Hopper painted Nighthawks following the attack on Pearl Harbor. As such, the empty streets and loneliness apparent in the painting can be blamed on the recent attack on the US and with events that followed. However, the painting is also a statement on the inherent loneliness of urban living. At the same time, the lack of doors in the diner, and the confinement of the attendee by the bar on all sides, also signals the confinement and entrapment that can come with large cities.
There has been some discussion on the location of the diner painted by Hopper. While the exact spot in New York has not been agreed on, the diner has never the less found its way into popular culture, appearing in CSI, The Simpsons, Tom Waits music and much more.
The original painting is today on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
