David Hockney: A Life in Paint
David Hockney earned the title of “pop star” early in his career and his artwork is now copied in books, posters, jackets, t-shirts, shopping bags, and picture books. Even though there are art critics that believe that the demands of art cannot be met by painting incidents from ones own life, this is not true for David Hockney. He uses his homosexuality, his moves to California and his relationships with friends and family to create his pieces of art.
David Hockney’s early work expressed his excitement and freedom after he confessed that he was homosexual. Adhesiveness, We Two Boys Together Clinging, Doll Boy, and The Most Beautiful Boy in the World are paintings in which David Hockney expressed his homosexuality. Hockney was influenced by the poet Walt Whitman and used Whitman’s numerical order to name the figures in his paintings and he also used lines from one of Whitman’s poem to give deeper meaning to the painting We Two Boys Together Clinging. In Hockney’s paintings Adhesiveness and We Two Boys Together Clinging, it is clear that the figures are engaged in sexual acts. In Doll Boy, David Hockney painted the words “your love means more to me”. This could be directed at the figure in the painting or as part of his general theme of homosexuality. All of these paintings show a theme of homosexuality, something that Hockney did not mind admitting to.
During his first move to California, David Hockney painted Domestic Scene Los Angeles, California, Two Boys in a Pool, Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool, A Lawn Being Sprinkled, and A Bigger Splash. The first four paintings listed still show Hockney’s theme of homosexuality and his obsession with naked men. Hockney also no longer needed to add text in order to avoid abstraction because his work became a more life-like and it became easier to identify the people. All of these paintings also show Hockney’s desire to play with the look of water and different ways to represent it.
In the 1960s, Hockney started painting relationships. He paid particular attention to the relationship between the people in the painting and also his relationship to them. A few of these paintings are Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy, and My Parents. In Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, Hockney painted Christopher with his coat on, showing that he is always leaving and he painted Henry sitting on a couch, showing that Henry is more commonly found at home. Henry and Hockney probably had a better relationship as well because Henry is looking at Hockney and Christopher is not. Hockney painted the tensions within the marriage of the Clarks in Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy and the marriage eventually ended in a divorce. Hockney painted his relationship to his parents in My Parents. By looking at the painting, one can see thatHockney had a stronger relationship with his mother than with his father. This is seen by the direction his parents are facing.
After he moved back to California in the late 1970s, Hockney started painting landscapes. Hockney’s purpose in making these landscape paintings was to make the eye move across the canvas as if one was walking or driving down the road. Nicolas Canyon and Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica both accomplish this. Hockney eventually moved back to England but he still painted landscapes. Garrowsby Hill is just one example. This painting is different from his California landscapes but he still used the long road winding throughout the land to catch a viewer’s eye.
Prompts:
1. Pick one or two paintings and describe how the painting(s) make you feel, what you see, and why you think Hockney might have painted the painting(s).
2. Do you think Hockney's paintings of California are a good or bad representation of the state?
3. Compare the paintings Nicolas Canyon (California) and Garrowsby Hill (England). Which area do you think Hockney liked better and why? What can the painting tell you about Hockney?
