Those who say Edward Hopper is the artist of social distancing may be wrong

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Magazine

Those who say Edward Hopper is the artist of social distancing may be wrong



Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks.” (Edward Hopper (American, 1882–1967). The Art Institute of Chicago, Friends of American Art Collection)

By Menachem Wecker
April 27, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

Checking Twitter back in March, Michael Tisserand noticed a cat picture that somehow reminded him of the lighting in an Edward Hopper painting. He realized that was how he was feeling as well, so the writer, who lives in New Orleans, tweeted, "we are all edward hopper paintings now," along with four Hopper renderings of solitary figures. (1) "Edward Hopper is one of those artists whose vision [of us] just becomes part of the way we view ourselves," Tisserand told me.

His tweet has since generated nearly 70,000 retweets and more than 220,000 likes. It’s among the many Hopper memes that have proliferated on social media. Another tweet showing a close-up of a Hopper painting of a woman sitting on a bed, staring out a window read, “We choose modern loneliness because we want to be free. But when the freedoms of modern life are removed, what’s left but loneliness?” Ethan Lasser, a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, declared on Twitter that Hopper “is the unexpected poet of our moment.” (2)

But while some Hopper experts appreciate the wave of interest in the American painter, who died in 1967, they say it’s a mistake to brand him as a patron saint of loneliness and social isolation. “He didn’t feel a sort of social stigma, or that just because you are with yourself that you’re not entirely content,” says Sarah Kelly Oehler, chair and curator of American art at the Art Institute of Chicago. “I think that there’s some misrepresentation there.”

{snip}

Menachem Wecker is a writer in Washington.

(1)

Link to tweet

{2)

Link to tweet

[Aristus]

1. I tend to agree with that interpretation of 'Night Hawks'.

The conventional wisdom is that it is about urban loneliness, alienation, and disaffection.

When I first saw the painting as a kid, I thought it was hopeful; that in this dark, deserted, sinister town, there was an oasis of light, warmth, comfort, and company.

I still feel that way about the painting, to a certain extent.

Hopper is my favorite American artist. I think he was brilliant.

[CTyankee]

2. I see the interpretation of hope. For one thing, there is the light that can be seen as an

illumination in a time of darkness, a place, a refuge. The light from the diner holds back the darkness. Which is fine except that you can see no exit from the diner, only from the revolving door which leads to the kitchen.

I think the history of the painting is also to be taken into consideration. As a nation, there was a heightened anxiety over a looming world conflict (this was 1942) and a consciousness from the Great Depression.

Hopper himself said "The loneliness thing is overdone."

[Aristus]

3. I read an interpretation of the painting once that the cash register in the window of the store

across the street hints that the man and woman in the diner are planning a robbery of that store later that night.

I thought that was a bit much...

[CTyankee]

5. I read that too but, of course, there is a reason an artists includes anything in his/her work. Am I

remembering correctly that Hopper said "Sometimes a cash register is just a cash register"? Or did I just make that up...

[CTyankee]

4. I believe that Room in Brooklyn is more inviting to the viewer, even though the reader (?) is

facing outward. I like the warmth of the sunlight through the window, the flowers and the idea of the woman enjoying the morning sun and a moment of peace.

[Aristus]

6. I agree.

Strangely enough, the painting might make an excellent image with regard to the self-isolation that has become necessary during the pandemic.

[CTyankee]

7. Yes! That is a terrific "update" of the work's meaning.

It is funny that Hopper, once again, brings an exquisite meaning to us, one that we can stop and ponder.