Annotated Bibliograph on David Hockney's My Parents

Annotated Bibliography
MLA

Jury, Louise. "Face Values: Now Hockney Makes an Exhibition of Himself and Family." The Independent 2 Dec. 2005.

Mainly this article was about David Hockney and an exhibit he was setting up in London. The exhibit was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the National Portrait Gallery’s first collector’s piece. David Hockney commemorates his friends and family by painting their portraits. He especially did this in his painting of My Parents. Looking at the picture one can see his love and respect for his parents by painting them probably in a way that he remembers them. Nearly all of his paintings are loved and it is hard not to when he uses such vibrant colors and such delicate strokes. His paintings are linked to him; they are part of his life and represent that life in full because he paints those whom he loves.

Walsh, Peter. "The Art of Absorption." Boston's NPR 21 Mar. 2006. 28 Jan. 2009 .

This article talked about David Hockney’s art at the MFA’s and how he absorbs his family and friends completely into his paintings. It also went into detail about the methods in which he uses to paint. Hockney uses his friends, family, lovers, heroes, celebrities, patrons and near strangers. However his paintings are not about his subjects, they are about him. It is almost like in Hockney’s paintings that the people have no individual existence. I think that it is interesting how his paintings have nothing to do with other people and everything to do with himself. He is the creator and he can do what he wants. In the 1980’s David Hockney started to change his type of painting to icy and precise. In his painting My Parents, he shows exactly what his parents look like, and have them clothed in outfits that are typical of them. The background to is empty just like the expressions on his parents faces.

Jones, Jonathon. "My Parents, David Hockney." The Guardian. 19 Jan. 2002. 29 Jan. 2009.

This article was about David Hockney’s subjects (his parents), the distinguishing features and also Hockney’s inspiration and influence for his painting My Parents. Hockney’s parents were strong-minded. His mother was very religious and a vegetarian while his father was an anti-war campaigner and he fiercely opposed smoking. Hockney’s father died just one year after this painting was finished. The way that the couple is sitting represents the different type of relationships that his parents established with him. His mother looks at him directly but his father looks down. I believe that Hockney and his mother had a strong loving relationship while Hockney’s father was always to busy to spend time with his son. In the background of his painting, Hockney imitated Chardin’s simple world. I believe that maybe this was also a sign of the simple life he lived as a kid. Also the positioning of his parents resembles their influence in his paintings and his career.