Edward Hopper’s famous 1942 painting “Night Hawks” ( http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_Modern/pages/MOD_7_lg.shtml )
has played a significant role in my own urban photography. His work speaks of urban alienation, and lack of communication. I often make images that echo his concerns. However on this visit to New York City, I wanted to make a contradictory statement, asserting that both friendship and communication, pivotal human value, can exist in environments very similar to the one that Hopper uses in “Night Hawks.” This image does precisely that. Hopper’s painting is cased in lonely darkness. I set my image in the context of an early morning – the sun bathes the sidewalk and building in splashes of warmth. As with Hopper, the viewer stands outside, looking in. However I found two women communicating here through both speech and human gesture -- factors deliberately lacking in the Hopper painting. They may be alone, but they are not lonely. They have each other, and the whole coffee shop is theirs as they start the working day.