Similarities Between Nightlife And Nighthawks

The Art Institute of Chicago is an artistic architectural structure that graces Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. At the entrance of the Art Museum, stand two guardian lion statues. Lion statues were status symbols for great dwellings that were placed outside of main entranceways to promote good and to stop evil from entering in. As I entered the building, I sensed myself going back into an era, into a past where people traded ideas and learned from each other. It is a past where we find works of yesteryears within our grasp; to be remembered, shared and treasured. As Ms. Cherwin guided us through the museum, I couldn’t stop wondering if the artists knew that their works of art would one day be shared and appreciated so many years
later, by so many hundreds of thousands of people. As we viewed various works, and passed by several more, I wondered what the artists were thinking and feeling as they were creating their masterpieces; what stories they were trying to tell. While browsing the contemporary section of the building, we entered the room containing Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. Another painting in the same room, Nightlife, by Archibald Motley, caught my eye; not for the first time. The bright colors and subject matter caught my attention and intrigued me. I decided to do a bit of research on Motley and Nightlife, and compare and contrast it to Nighthawks.

Archibald Motley was born in New Orleans in 1871. At the age of two, Motley’s family moved to Chicago. When he was just nine years old, Motley knew that he wanted to be an artist. Motley was also interested in Chicago African American life, and as a child he would venture to Thirty-fifth and State streets to watch the dancing, singing and people. After high school, Motley trained at the Art Institute of Chicago. Following graduation, Motley had a difficult time finding work because of his race. As a result of this, Motley spent the first twelve years of his career depicting African Americans through portraits. Mending Socks, done in 1924, was one of Motley’s most famous portraits. This portrait depicts his grandmother sitting in a room performing menial labor. Mending Socks symbolizes slavery and its affects on African Americans. In 1928, Motley became only the second African American artist ever to achieve a one-man exhibition in New York City. This success was achieved during the Harlem Renaissance movement, a period when African American artists, writers, and musicians celebrated the urban life of blacks. The Harlem Renaissance work also showed how far African Americans had come in terms of how they can paint, write, perform and live like whites since the end of slavery. In 1943, when Motley painted Nightlife, he was symbolizing African Americans as a group trying to move away from their past and live and enjoy life like everyone else.
Around the same time period, in 1942, Edward Hopper painted his masterpiece, Nighthawks. Both Nightlife and Nighthawks portray scenes in a large city, though very differently. Nighthawks lends feelings of loneliness and isolation, whereas Nightlife gives off an air of closeness and camaraderie. In Nighthawks, there are only four subjects portrayed and there is no evidence of interaction between them. In Nightlife, there are numerous subjects, engaging in drinking, dancing, and what appears to be lively conversation. Nighthawks gives the viewer the sense that the subjects are dwelling on their problems, whereas in Nightlife, the viewer gets the sense that the subjects are trying to get away from their problems. The color schemes used in both compositions are very different as well. Hopper chose reds, oranges, browns and yellows to create the contrasting brightness of the diner with the darkness of the isolated street outside. Motley chose vibrant shades of rich purple for his composition, which create feelings of warmth and closeness, as well as giving it a whimsical
flavor. Hopper stated that with Nighthawks, he was portraying loneliness in a big city. Motley stated that with Nightlife, he was portraying a group of people with the common goal of trying to move away from the hardships of their past and live an enjoyable life. The color schemes and subject matter used by both artists work together to successfully give the messages intended.