Research Notes: David Hockney -

Photographer Research -

David Hockney -

Born: July 9th 1937
Died: N/A
Place of Birth: Bradford, UK
Occupation: Artist
Groups: Pop Art
Camera Used: Polaroid

• Hockney was born in 1937 as the son of a conscientious objector in world war 2.
• Hockney was the fourth of five children.
• At the Royal College of Art Hockney took part in an exhibition with other young contemporaries that sparked the beginning of pop art.
• Hockney refused to write a final essay whilst at university to receive his diploma and the school changed their policies so he could graduate based solely on his work.
• Hockney was an openly gay artist who often studies this subject in his work.
• Hockney was known for paintings, prints and stage designs.
• In the early 1980s Hockney began experimenting with 'Joiners' after an accidental piece of work.
• Whilst photographing his apartment in individual polaroid and placing them together to later paint them he discover that his photo-collage created a narrative and a journey for the viewer to experience.
• 'Joiners' are often likened to that of cubism and Hockney himself said that one of his greatest aspirations for the photographic series was to discuss the way in which human vision works.
• Hockney soon returned to paint after he became frustrated with the "one-eyed" approach of photography.

Joiners:

Photo joiners are collages of photographs to create an abstract interpretation of what can be seen. The images begin to give more than one perspective and thus create a narrative which takes the audience on a journey.

David Hockney Examples:

This first image is a series of photographs which combine to create a cubism style portrait. Just as the subject is looking in various direction the audience too is given many perspectives and can follow many paths to different meanings. The prominence of some pictures over others creates a carefully constructed chaos and gives the impression of either a many faced god or the fluctuating emotions or personalities within the mind of the subject at that point.

This second photographic series is less chaotic than the first and the individual polaroid's all combine to create a grid. The lone swimmer is seen in many of the frames and this image displays the passing of time. The spontaneous and sporadic spacing of the swimmer allows the viewers eye to dart all over the image before taking more careful consideration into the implicit meanings.

This final example is different to the others in that it is a landscape. The joiner landscape, to me, gives the impression of individual bricks and how society is constantly being built upon. Also, the individual frames could also represent the people who share the context of this image, those who have memories of this pace have all become bricks that build society. Landscapes are shaped by those who surround them.