JULY 2006

DAVID HOCKNEY

The Farnham Decorative and Fine Art Society held their last monthly lecture of the current programme at the Maltings on Tuesday, 18th. July. Frances Ashworth, Chairman, started by thanking the retiring committee members, then announced details of forthcoming visits to William Morris’ Red House, Danson House and various theatre productions, and finally reminded members that subscriptions must be renewed by the end of July.

“David Hockney” was the subject of an erudite but also entertaining lecture by Douglas Skeggs, a writer, artist and TV presenter. Hockney, born in Bradford in 1937, had a traditional training, first at Bradford Art College and later at the Royal College of Art in London, where he was a gold medallist. Hockney feels that his work follows on from that of the great masters, re-examining them and translating them into modern images. He often includes words in small print in his pictures.

Hockney particularly admires Picasso; both are extremely prolific in many different styles and media. Douglas Skeggs had made a masterly selection from Hockney’s vast output, showing slides to illustrate many aspects of his work. Each image was analysed in detail, emphasising its originality, wit and skill, and the links with past masters.

After the RCA, Hockney went to California, where in the famous swimming pool pictures, such as “A Bigger Splash”, he tried to capture the movement of water. Hockney was constantly exploring the question “How do we actually see the world?”. His attempts to capture the effect of sunlight on rippling water teach us to observe more closely.

Hockney is an excellent portraitist, but will never accept commissions for portraits, as this might compromise his approach. He often includes 2 people, leading the viewer to interpret their relationship, as in the painting “Mr & Mrs Clark and Percy” in the National Gallery, arguably his most important work. In some portraits, Hockney produces a composite picture from a montage of photos, showing many aspects of the sitter, as in cubism. In others he follows Picasso, using just a simple line with no hatching to achieve great expression.

Hockney loves the make-believe world of the theatre, and has designed highly original stage sets for many productions; for Stravinsky’s “Rake’s Progress”, he reinterpreted Hogarth’s engravings..

This was an excellent overview of a huge subject., showing how Hockney has always sought wider perspectives.