R.I.P. Nighthawks

   For as long as I can remember I've been in awe of Edward Hopper's 1942 painting "Nighthawks". But like most famous paintings it's been used to death from everything from socks to shower curtains. In the 21st century all great art has been reduced to merch and branded to an embarrassing cliche.

   For me, this painting represented the freedom that comes from living a night life. The ability to drink coffee or have a good cheap meal between the hours of midnight and 5am. There is no rush, no hustle and bustle. Just a chosen few who have no ambition to be part of a boring hyper-normal society or the insipid call for never ending density in what was once known as a city.

  Living this kind of life you were given the opportunity to see behind the wizard's curtain. To experience the really city and those who make it function. 

  Lately my feelings about this painting have changed. First I was depressed, then angry, and finally outraged. What changed? The ability to live anything close to this kind of life anymore. In a very short period of time the city has gone from 24 hours, to a 9 to 5 bedroom community. But in actuality it's closer to 10 to 4. 

  These younger generations have no idea what they missed, what they helped destroy, the absolute freedom of it. The un-expected, the un-planned, the un-curated. Time loses all meaning between midnight and 5am, and your senses explode. You hear better, you see better, you experience more, and even the coffee tastes better. But the going against the grain lifestyle has seemed to have retired with Generation X.