David Hockney is considered one of the most influential living artists. He contributed heavily to the pop art movement in the 1960s and is still active today. He works in many mediums, including but not limited to painting, photography, set design, and even iPhone drawings, which he does in the “notes” application on his iPhone.
Hockney was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and four other siblings. He studied art from an early age and graduated college only after protesting the graduation requirements stating that the only thing that should define his acquiring the diploma was his art soon after becoming an important figure in the British pop art movement.
Hockney has used his painting and portraiture to dialogue his experiences as a gay man. One of his most famous paintings, “Domestic Scene, Los Angeles,” depicts a man in the shower having his back washed by another man, bringing to light the seemingly humdrum activities of a gay couple. Despite the “everyday-ness” of this work, it adds to the conversation about homosexuality and how human and truly normal it is to be a gay man. Today, we may take this for granted, but it was pretty groundbreaking in 1963 when it was first shown.
Though much could be said about Hockney as we have detailed records of his entire life, a most exciting highlight is his life with synesthesia. A condition defined in this case by the brain intermixing of sensory inputs. In other words, Hockney sees synthetic colours due to listening to musical stimuli. A most exciting condition for a painter, wouldn’t you agree?
December 12, 2021 at 8:10 pm
Chris,
Okay I didn’t lecture on Hockney (I could have done so easily) so that someone like yourself could blog on him. In my mind he’s one of the most important artists on the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st. I’m surprised that more students haven’t posted on him over the years… a mystery. Of course 2/2 here. Enjoy your holiday break.
Jeff