David Hockney by Kristy Chae

Though photography and paintings are similar in a way both of them can capture moments in time that are accurate, David Hockey, one of the famous leaders of the pop art movement, says, “Photography will never equal painting!” David Hockney is a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, and also, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century. In addition, Hockney is well known for taking detailed individual photographs and putting or compiling them together like a puzzle. During 1980’s, Hockney made lots of photo collages and photomontages.

Merced river, 1982

My mother

Noya and Bill Brandt

Pearl blossom highway

The Cubism and photography exists together in these works.  He used grids to show the multiple reference points into photography. I think it is really interesting to see how each images are put together to complete the work. I like the fact that while a single photograph only show one point of view and only need a small period of time to look at it, his works need several minutes to look at and the slight changes of light and composition into the next image are beautiful. Also, as one can see in “My mother”, I like how the composition of putting the images together, or the edges of the images, matches with the subject matter.

One can see the same idea of dividing them into grids in Hockney’s several paintings, especially in his swimming pool series.

A Large Diver  (Paper Pool 27), 1978
colored and pressed paper pulp, 72x171 in.

Schwimmbad Mitternacht  (Paper Pool 11), 1978
colored and pressed paper pulp, 72x85 1/2 in.

I like how he uses colors and the brushstrokes of the swimming pool. I also like how he painted the reflection inside the swimming pool.