Edward Hopper, Office in a Small City, 1953

Hopper's painting accesses a unique emotional dichotomy. It communicates a loneliness, an empty, blank perspective, a man who, while above the city, has no connection to it. He sees the city as it truly is, and thereby separates himself from it.  The simpleness, the pure uncluttered nature of Hopper's piece builds on the emotion, or lack thereof, of the painting. On the other hand, the soft tones and easy lines make the piece consumable. It's easy to look at, to take in. It'scomfortable.

Beyond these two elements, however, lies a third: it's relatable. Not person among us hasn't felt empty, or meaningless, at some point. Everyone views themselves, in one way or another, as detached from society. Most of all, everyone has sat at a desk, looked out a window, and wished themselves somewhere else.

"My aim was to try to give the sense of an isolated and lonely office interior rather high in the air, with the office furniture which has a very definite meaning to me," Hopper said in regard to his work. He attempts, and succeeds, at creating a separated and elevated sense of space. The man looks down at the city from its highest point, but by doing so removes himself from it. Or vice versa: he separates himself in order to view the city from above. Superiority comes at the cost of loneliness.