Edward Hopper was a 20th century American painter and printmaker. Some of his more famous paintings are Automat, Chop Suey, and Office at Night. Though his most famous painting could be considered Nighthawks. Nighthawks is one of if not my most favorite painting for a very specific reason. This painting has caused a lot of conversation on the meaning behind the painting itself. Edward Hopper explains that the painting itself doesn't specifically explore the idea of loneliness; he does mention that “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city,” the idea that even in big cities you can still be lonely. This painting has stirred up different interpretation from other people as well, for me it's the idea that is a bustling city that is lively and flourishing in the morning, the people who can't sleep or the people who still are awake at night are the one experiencing this loneliness, either in a good or bad way. For me I consider myself as a night owl, I enjoy the peacefulness of the night, the quiet of the roads, and a particular type of loneliness that can only be found at night. The painting allows the ability for a person to be creative about the interpretation as Edward Hopper makes an unconscious ability to create a masterpiece that only gives meaning after it had been created. The biggest contention for this is the meaning behind the fact that the painting has no door to the diner. Some speculate it's the idea that we are trapped in the monotonous idea of a 9-5, that we are slaves to capitalism. Others may see it as a cog in the overall systems that create our own identities to make us feel that we are different. This can be explained by the anonymous figures that are shown, someone who is currently working, who is the base line cog, the couple together who find their way through the system together, and the person that has his back to the viewer, giving the idea of hopelessness as we are all trapped together. It brings the symbolism of isolation and separation. There was never a true reason for the interpretation of the painting but the future gave it a meaning.
This reminded me a lot in Faith, Hope and Carnage, when Sean O’Hagan asks Nick Cave “Can you elaborate on the idea that songs often possess a latent meaning that is only revealed much later?” Though the medias between Edward Hopper and Nick Caves are different, Nick Cave's response is a good way of explaining Nighthawks:
It’s fascinating territory… I believe that there exists a genuine mystery at the heart … Certain lines can appear at the time to be almost incomprehensible, but they nevertheless feel very true, very true indeed. And not just true, but necessary, and humming with a kind of unrevealed meaning… a line that requires the future to reveal its meaning.
The idea that you can create something out of uncertainty or unconsciously that may not make sense but feel right. That the meaning will come to the art after it is released, and that only the community can bring forth the true meaning of what is being created.
I like this painting too! It's interesting, yet understandable, that an artist may be unaware of the full meaning of their work until the work is manifested in the world and subject to public response. In this way, the work separates somewhat from its creator, not tethered to a single mind's definition, and becomes something on its own, like a child who is influenced by their parent/guardian(s) but nevertheless grows into their unique identity.
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