Edward Hopper, Nighthawks (details), 1942, oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago, source
The haunting power of Hopper’s art derives from his particular brand of realism, one which is sparse, disinclined toward extraneous detail and, ultimately, characterised by what the painting seems to omit rather than what it represents. He turned iconic American spaces such as diners, drug stores, hotel rooms, gas stations and cinemas into spaces reflective of the artist’s interior realm, spaces of mood, feeling, contemplation of one’s position in the world.
Behind the apparent simplicity of the paintings lies great complexity and depth. The lack of details invites the spectator to complete the image by speculating on past and impending events, on the relationships between the characters, and on the desires and anxieties provoked by our own need to examine these characters’ lives. […]
One of Hopper’s most famous declarations, part of the statement he submitted to Realityjournal in 1953, makes clear his approach: “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world.”
More than this, though, Hopper’s paintings also create a space in which the viewer’s own inner life can be regarded.
So when we look at another person, Hopper’s paintings invite us to ask, what exactly are we looking at? Reflections of ourselves, our desires, dreams and worries? Or somebody utterly other, someone we can never hope to understand or come close to? Are these two things, in the end, the same?
