Nighthawks

Nighthawks. That's the name of the painting. It seems appropriate. It reminds me of college students, late at night. Awake, but barely so. Drained from writing papers. Trickling in and out of the all-night breakfast joints.

Nighthawks was painted in 1942 by Edward Hopper. Immediately after Pearl Harbor. It seems to be an accurate representation of human existence after tragedy: everything is distant, vacant, empty. We can't communicate, we can't socialize. We can only sit silently and wonder why it happened.

So why do we love the painting? Why is it famous? Why are its prints so common?

Perhaps it brings comfort, when we are separated and apart. When we can't seem to connect, to understand what's going on. This painting makes us remember that others experience this too; it isn't just us.

Author's Note: I currently have a copy of this painting, in poster form, hanging on my dorm room wall.