For David Hockney, Looking Was Living |
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For David Hockney, Looking Was Living
Hockney died last week at 88, having never lost the quality that made him arguably the world's most famous living artist: an undiminished enthusiasm for finding new ways to capture what he saw.
The British have a term for people like David Hockney: national treasure. It’s an informal title reserved for people who achieve success so substantial that their name becomes synonymous with the nation’s identity. When Hockney died last week, both the Prime Minister and the King released statements praising his achievements and contributions to art. Hockney’s most famous paintings depict the swimming pools of California; later works show the changing light of Normandy over the course of a year. Yet he was born in Yorkshire, died in London and never lost his flat Northern accent. There was something else he never lost in his 88 years on earth: his love of looking and using whatever tool felt right to capture what he saw.
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Hockney was born in Bradford, an industrial town in the north of England, to a working-class family. His father upholstered prams, and when Hockney started painting street scenes of his native Bradford, he would lug his paints and equipment in one of his dad’s prams. It must have been a funny sight, but Hockney was not one to be embarrassed or snobbish when it came to anything, not least the tools of his trade. He embraced technology wherever it opened new creative possibilities, his curiosity keeping pace with every new development. His works encompass painting, photocopies, Polaroids and iPad drawings. His methods of........