Born in 1937 in Bradford, England, David Hockney attended an art school in London. He studied at the College of Art in Bradford from 1953 to 1957 and finished his studies at the Royal College of Art in 1962. In the 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles. Here, he had access to many swimming pools, which he painted, eventually garnering attention. Most of his early works were filled with Expressionist elements, before moving on to pop art. After that, Hockney taught in places such as Colorado, Iowa and Berkeley.
Using a Polaroid camera, he captured “Shower Pictures” using his acrylic. Now, I have decided that it does not look suitable at all. However, if you are really curious, you can go and have a look. Moving on, in the 1970s, he also did stage design for performances such as “The Magic Flute” by Mozart in 1978 at the Glyndebourne Opera.
Most of his montages came about in the late 70s, where we combined many Polaroid shots to form “photo joiners”. The work is relatively abstract and looks like one of Picasso’s Cubist works. In the late 80s, he did media work.
Here are a few montages by Hockney and my short response to each of them.
This montage feels like there is a boy exploring the environment around him. The boxes that surround him look very magical, for me, like floating pieces. The tree looks rather mystical with no leaves on it.
This looks really abstract and make what seems like an original photograph very geometrical and complex. It feels like the world is coming to an end, because the blue roof figure on the left looks as if it is crashing down. The whole thing looks weird but works.
(Pearlblossom Highway by David Hockney)
The many stop signs make me wonder if this is a stranded land which no one has gone to. It makes me tempted to go there, and all of the visible lines make it seem as if there is something new there, something fresh and something that will take me by huge surprise.
According to The Guardian, Hockney always remains enthusiastic in his artwork, regardless of his age, constantly challenging viewers to broaden their minds. His art speaks for itself. Although he is in 70s, his enthusiasm is like that of a young boy, and what we should consider when taking on anything.
Useful Links/References:
“David Hockney Biography – Infos – Art Market.” Art Directory. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Kermode, Mark. “Hockney Review – an Intimate Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man.” The Guardian. The Guardian, 30 Nov. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Photography 101 