A Light in the Dark

One painting that stood out to me most was Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. It’s difficult to say why, but I found myself completely intrigued by this work. I suppose I am one of the realists in the class, and I tend to enjoy paintings such as Hopper’s more than abstract expressionists’. What drew me in most was the dim look on American life. Instead of bright, inspirational works that depicted the beauty and wonder of New York life, Hopper chose to look closer at the more typical and boring scenes, showing the lack of relationships and closeness with the people surrounding each other.
In Nighthawks, the people are all in a single setting, a lit restaurant in the late evening. You would think that the only lit place in the dark streets would present you a welcoming happy scene, but Hopper would rather demonstrate reality over fantasy. Instead of being happy and enjoying their time together, it would seem, though sitting close together in a single space, the people are very distant and lonely.
For example, the woman in the painting seems more interested in her nail beds than a conversation with the man sitting so near her. I would imagine strained silence, all parties avoiding any interaction with one another. The man next to the woman appears lost in his own thoughts, hands in front of him and gaze straight ahead of him. Another man is sitting in shadow so that we cannot see him well. He is hunched over and seems to be looking forward. The attendant is looking over as though someone has just said something to him, but his demeanor does not suggest any type of friendly conversation occurring. Overall the scene is what, even today, one would see passing by on a dark street. Not all light in the dark can give a happy scene.