Meta-Critique

In conclusion, my musings on the more obvious qualities of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks left a little room for expansion; namely the ironic possibilities of the lonely life portrayed in the work. I think the Americana feeling that the piece has taken on in todays Onto-Historical world has led to many parodies and references in pop culture, all of which I could not possibly categorize here. I hit a few.

Also in terms of it's influence on the other arts, i.e. music, I could further explore it's referential points in many other works besides the work of Tom Waits. I wish I could not only experience the painting in person, but experience these musical works live as well, to better understand the virtual feeling and sound-in-time. I could also take an entire analysis to explore and deschiper the various levels of referential meaning in the Tom Waits album, which is something I am considering doing on my own free time to further my analysis of Hopper.

My historical and onto-historical sections, luckily, were only helped by the original explorations of Hopper in class; however, I was also limited by the statements and influences of many other peoples opinions of Ed. Perhaps I would have been better suited picking an artist, or a painting I was not already familiar with to some capacity, to avoid too many pre-existing prejudices or judgments. I tried to bracket them out as necessary, but I may have failed here and there.

Finally, I wish I could be more expansive in my analysis. At the risk of being too long winded in any given section, I made sure to not 'ramble' or go too far; this could be considered a weakness in my overall work. I wanted to be concise and insightful, but in setting out to be concise, might have missed an opportunity to push my exploration. If any point or detail needs elaboration or further discussion, I invite all of you to respond to the post and request such an act. I will be happy to do so.

It has been an incredible experience immersing myself in the work and seeing how it has inspired me to other forms of art, as well as how it has inspired music and culture.