Traces of Daily American Life And Modern Life in The Paintings of Edward Hopper

The works of Edward Hopper that consist of images of daily American life are structured in a way to reflect the individual who is isolated with the development of industrialization. For this reason, in order to understand the paintings of the artist, firstly the conditions of the United States in the 20th century were discussed, and the loneliness, alienation and isolation of the modern individual were focused on. The era of war and economic crisis the country was involved in was elaborated upon by establishing a relationship with the pessimistic ambiance in the paintings of Hopper. After describing these sources utilized by the artist, the works named Automat (1927), Room in New York (1932), New York Movie (1939), Nighthawks (1942) and Western Motel (1957) were historically and sociologically examined with the critical method through the American lifestyle and the traces it carries regarding modern life. During this examination, it was aimed to make an association between the elements used by the painter in his compositions, his way of approaching the topic and the stylistic elements of his paintings and the American social structure in the 20th century. This association is not only important as it shows that changing position of the individual in the society against the modern lifestyle, but also provides Hopper’s paintings with the quality of documents. When artist’s works are examined, it is clear that the artist is in the concern of showing the 20th century American society and culture to which he belongs. Therefore, these works, which describe the modern life as a result of the Second Industrial Revolution that emerged in America in the 1900s, emphasize the relationship of the individual with modernity and show the artist's desire to describe the realities of the outside world