Nighthawks by Edward Hopper - Research Paper Example

Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper Introduction Nighthawk is a 1942 painting by an American painter known as Edward Hopper that shows people sitting at a diner late at night. It can be said that it is one of the most famous and recognizable American art. The themes in the paintings may or may not be ambiguous but viewers can appreciate and recognize the paintings from a technical perspective. In addition, a person who is careful in viewing the painting will recognize that there is unusual use of color, perspective and light in the painting. The eyes of the viewers are first drawn by the bright, cold fluorescent light of the interior; however, the viewer quickly turns the attention to the customers. The three counter servers or patrons are set against the dark background of the nighttime street. Perspective in the Nighthawks It is important to look at the use of perspective in the painting. The painter chose to paint a scene situated at a sharply angled street corner instead of many of New York’s right angled intersection. Therefore, the sharp corner gave the painter an opportunity to exhibit his subjects from a frontal view and also made the painter to be able to exhibit dimly visible street scene behind the patrons. In addition, the shape of nighthawks when viewed from the painters chosen angle, gives this second glass a surface to fill the whole painting. More so, the pane of glass forms a rhomboid, which is near to the centre of painting and remembering, with slight interruption, the shape of the whole canvas and framing much of the action (Theisen 239). The back windows in the paintings acted as background for all the customers but not for the seller in the restaurant. The customer who is isolated from the rest is at the precise centre of the frame-within-frame (that can be said to be the real centre of the entire painting). Despite the fact that they sit around the bended counter, couple’s heads are painted directly to his right in order for the horizontal line drawn halfway between the bottom and the top of the canvas would cut all the three heads. The painter was keen in presenting the whole human element in his painting to be contained within the lower right-hand quarter of the canvas. Color in the Nighthawks It is vividly clear that the Hopper used ‘a bit of bright’ ceiling in his painting near to hidden fluorescent light that illustrates the interior. The ceiling is of limited importance to any narrative that might be showing up among customers below which depicts that Hopper’s realism in these paintings. In addition, outside the dinner, dull colors are dominant as might be expect during the night. In the interior, the men’s suits and counter tops are also dull not bright as the ceilings. There are also two brightly colored spots in the whole of interior which shows white outfits worn by the server of the hotel and the female customer is painted wearing a red blouse. The red blouse and lipstick of the female customer represents Hoppers use of red in the entire painting making her different from everything else in the painting (Barnet 37). Light in the Nighthawks The painter was interested in capturing the effect of light on the subjects and objects it touched. In addition, he was inspired by the nighttime effect of artificial and manmade light spilling out doorways, windows and porches. In the paintings, Hopper captured the might-time effect of light. For instance, he showed that the diner plate-glass caused more light to spill out onto the sidewalks. Implication of the Nighthawks The painter used the title nighthawks to refer to those people who are night owls and also represents a particular nocturnal bird. In the painting therefore, Hopper tries to show nature is taking over things in the sense that people are moving towards mechanized future and that they will still display an untamed restlessness. These situations are perceived with jaundiced eyes in the sense that nature and technology attract people but at the same repels. The darkness depicted in this painting is not just from the night (Theisen 250). There is psychological darkness revealed in this painting in that customers seem frozen and deep in thoughts. These customers are physically close but they are detached emotionally. It can be noticed that they are separate from one another thus leaving the viewer with questions. For instance, it can be asked what are they doing at the restaurant at night or what are they thinking? "Nighthawks" by Wolf Wondratschek In this poem, the poet aims to explore the painting done by Hopper by looking at the customers in the Nighthawks in the dinner at night and what was going to happen next. The poem depicts that the painting portrayed modern urban life as lonely or empty. This is sharply illustrated by the man sitting with his back to us who appears lonely because of the couples sitting next to him. The poet keenly concentrated on the art work in that the lines of the poem presents clear description of the customers sitting in the restaurant. From the poems lines, it is vividly clear that the poet would not have relied on other art work to deliver what he intended to deliver. 2. “Kermesse" by Pieter Brueghael The kermess or peasant dance is not date but it is believed to have been painted in 1567. In addition, the painter aimed to illustrate peasant life. The picture is about a dance which is being held in the village featuring courtly settings of formal dances whereby each participant is dressed in their finest attires. The large couple in the front of the ground appears to be hurrying to dance while other couples appear to have lost in the merriment and joys of the dance. A closer look at the house, there is a man trying to drag a reluctant woman towards the dancing (Sheridan and Perkins 54). The Kermess is a painting that was engineered by Pieter Brueghael which depicts the dancers going around the blare and squeal while tipping their bellies. The dancers are rolling and kicking about the fairgrounds as they dance. The painters show cartoonist simplicity to portray and deliver the intended message. The color of the painting is was not bright but some dull in order to give a clear picture of the setting of the dance. The texture of the painting creates a visual effect making the paint look like a flat surface. This painting creates an illusion of ripples since some lines have been repeated. The painting appears rough but expressionist in nature since it delivers the message it is intended to deliver. Implication of Kermess The title of the painting was intended to depict the peasant way of life in the village. It shows how people valued their traditions and life in general. In addition, it intended to show that at some point, people forget their moral standards in that immorality starts to rule their mind as seen in the kermess. Additionally, people in this village have deserted the church and opted for the celebration despite the day being saint’s day. Kermess was a special and unique celebration on the feast day of the Saint who was the patron of the village. With time, the festival came to mark a special town celebration often organized and planned to some charitable purpose. The painting done by Pieter Brueghel is a illustration and a record of festivities of peasant society. "The Dance" by William Carlos Williams William Carlos William poem known as the dance comprises twelve lines of rhythmic verse written in reaction to a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. According to Stanton 29, the painting referred to as the Kermess or peasant dance illustrates sturdy and well-fed peasants on a holiday. This poem describes an existing painting since the poem itself resembles a painting. In addition, it begins and ends with the same line in Brueghel’s great picture, the Kermess which creates a real image in readers mind. They are dancing, making music, drinking, venting sexual impulses and leaving themselves to the spirit of carnival. The poem by William captures the hearty vitality that the painting shows. Via strong and concrete auditory and visual images and through the strong measured rhythm, William reveals that the villagers loved to celebrate their lives. The dance, a poem by William Carlos William can be described as ekphrastic poem that focuses on a painting of a fair where a community or village participates in a very active and aggressive dance. In this poem the poet wanted illustrates that the repetition around the around in the second and their line is used to depict the visionary imaginary of the dancers looping dance pattern ( Carlos and Macha 88). More so, the poet emphasized on the bellies, shanks, and butts in the poem which suggests that roundness can be used to describe their obese physicality. It is also significant to note that the mouth is opened the largest when mentioning or pronouncing the word round and around further illustrating the pig-like qualities and characters of the villagers. The poem utilizes onomatopoeia as well as audio imaginary to try and make the painting appear real. It can be deduced that the annoying sounds in the paintings can be used to help describe the violent aspect of the dance as further as endorsed by rolling and kicking in lines seven of the poem. The poem was intended to show an amazing depiction of careless merriment and records of events of meticulous details of people’s life during that time. The poem by William intends to shade more light on the painting by showing that people preserve their hope and depict determination to persevere hard conditions. That is the message that is contained in this painting as presented by the painter. Through the work of Pieter Brueghel, it is easy to learn and understand more about village life of that period and the people who inhabited it. For instance, it is easy to know how they dressed, danced, ate and hunted as it is the case of contemporary paintings. The painter had in his mind a moral slant in that lust, anger and gluttony are vividly seen in the painting. More so, the poem reveals the painters intention of bringing out the message that despite being the saints day, people have deserted the church. This poem cannot understand support its themes without referring to the art work by Pieter Breughel because the theme in this poem reflects what the painter intended to depict (Gioia 203). The poem is well written to include the content of the painting. Carlos captures the painting essence precisely as his phrases, structure, and rhyme scheme give an efficient image of joyous dancing. The most capturing part of the poem is that of the floor boards. He imagines the overweight figures on boards of wood actually enjoying the music and dance intensely and concludes that the planks are well crafted and adds them into the dance by suggesting that they prance as the dance continues. Everything is in unison- the bellies, the dancers, the music, and the boards on which they dance. However, although to the confines of this poem, people play and dance almost wildly, a line in the poem cannot be crossed maybe meaning that the dancing and the festival do not occur at any random day except on traditional feasts (Gerd 2). It seems as if there is an implied imperfect value to the music and dance being performed. “Bellies off balance” have been used to reinforce the idea that this is a peasant festival rather than a formal kingly feast or traditional where people drink and have a good time. The “dance” is an actual illustration of an existing painting. It resembles the painting by starting with the same line as Brueghel’s, which creates a sort of frame. William tries to express the dance by repeating “round” and emits punctuation to bring in imagery showing that the dancers were not interrupted. The poet is a perfect one for Brueghel’s work since the dance is casual, everyday scene that describes the painting in loving detail, and makes the reader see the deep beauty of the routine, and its implied significance. Works Cited Gerd, Gemunden. Framed Visions: Social History, Popular Culture, and Politics in Germany. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1998. Print. Theisen, Gordon and Hopper, Edward. Staying Up Much Too Late: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and the Dark Side of the American Psyche. New York: T. Dunne Books, 2006.Print. Parini, Jay. The Wadsworth Anthology of Poetry. New York: Cengage Learning, 2005. Print. Stanton, Joseph. Cardinal Points: Poems on St. Louis Cardinals Baseball. London: McFarland, 2002. Print. Northrop, Frye, Sheridan, Warner and Baker, George. The Practical imagination: stories, poems, plays. London: Harper & Row, 1988. Print. Barnet, Sylvan. An Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, Drama. New York: Longman, 2000. Print. William Carlos Williams, and Macha, Louis Rosenthal. The William Carlos Williams Reader Volume 282 of A New Direction Book. Chicago: New Directions Publishing, 1966.Print. Gioia, Dana. An Introduction to Poetry. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. Print. Read More