David Hockney

Summit High School

Digital Photography

Short Biography

• He was Born in 1937 (Still Alive)

• Student in the Royal College of Art

• Achieved international success by the time he was in his mid-20s

• His early paintings, often almost humorous in mood, gained him a reputation of leading Pop Artist, although he himself rejected the label.

“An artist must be judged by what they do rather than by what they say.” – David Hockney

Short Biography

• By 1961 he had done his first Tea Paintings and Love Paintings, painted compositions consisting of consumer goods images and psychograms. More than any others, these pictures showed his proximity to Pop Art.

• He taught at University of Iowa, University of Colorado, and the University of California, Berkeley.

• He’s had numerous exhibitions around the world.

• In the 1980s he had experimented much with photography, creating what are called joiners

The Second Tea Painting1961

Oil on canvas61 x 36 in (155 x 91 cm)

Private collection

His Paintings

• David Hockney's work has always dealt with real life.

• He is always depicting real life objects as well as every day scenes.

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)

1971Acrylic on canvas

84 x 120 in. (214 x 304.8 cm)Collection David Geffen

A Bigger Splash1967

Acrylic on canvas96 x 96 in (243.8 x 243.8 cm)

Tate Gallery, London

His Paintings

Nichols Canyon1980

Acrylic on canvas84 x 60 in. (213.3 x 152.4 cm)

Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Hedreen

A Lawn Being Sprinkled1967Acrylic on canvas96 x 96 in. (153 x 153 cm)Collection of Lyn and Norman Lear

Photography

• In 1980 when Hockney started to experiment with photography, he took photographs that are called joiners.

• Joiners are when the photographer shoots multiple images of the same scene, develops the film, then reassembles the pictures to recreate the scene.

• This is not as easy as it looks. It takes time and planning.

• He used film and polaroid pictures to accomplish the joiner images.

Kasmin Los Angeles 28th March 19821982

Composite Polaroid41 3/4 x 29 3/4 in (106 x 75.6 cm)

Collection David Hockney

Photography

My Mother, Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, Nov. 82 #4

1982Photographic collage

47 1/2 x 27 1/2 in (120.7 x 69.9 cm)Collection David Hockney

Photography

Photography

Place Furstenberg, Paris, August 7,8,9, 1985 #11985 Photographic collage

35 x 31 1/2 in. (88.9 x 80 cm)Collection of the artist

Photography

Pearblossom Highway, 11-18th April 1986 #21986

Photographic collage78 x 111 in. (198 x 282 cm)

Collection the artist

Photography• David Hockney shot many

images from one view point (stayed in the same spot), however he would zoom in on certain objects to signify their importance in the image.

Look at the detail of how large the dog biscuits and

books are compared to the desk. Hockney zoomed in on

these images to emphasis them in the picture.

Producing a Hockney Joiner

• While producing a Hockney joiner you will have to keep two things in mind….

• Distortion is inevitable.

• Your image will never be “perfect”

• No matter how hard you try, your image will look distorted.

• Distortion is normal.

• Obstruction is not!

• Even though your image is distorted you should still be able to tell what the scene is.

Producing a Hockney Joiner

When starting the pictures for your project you will need to start on the tope left of the scene and work your way to the right. Your body needs to stay in the same spot the whole time.

As you move from one picture to the next, you will need to overlap information just SLIGHTLY. To do this, look at what is on the right side of the first picture (the flag). Then make sure that thing is on the left side for the next picture.

1st Picture 2nd Picture

Producing a Hockney Joiner

• When you’re ready to start a new row of photos, you will need to overlap information from the bottom and top as well. Look at what is at the bottom of the first picture (a yellow bottle thing) and make sure that thing is at the top of the next row.

Producing a Hockney Joiner

• So, the whole overlapping-grid technique goes a little something like this:

• Left Right

• Down

• Left Right

• Down

• Left Right

• And so on

Producing a Hockney

Producing a Hockney

Producing a Hockney Joiner

• Many of your final images will not make a rectangle due to the distortion of the image.

• IF you want your image to be rectangular you will have to move every time you take a picture. IE: always take one step either to the right or left depending on which way you are going. This technique takes more effort.

Project Specifications

• Choose a scene: a place where you won’t be disturbed is best. You’ll need to be fully concentrated!

• First take a “whole” picture of the scene to use for reference later.

• Take at least 20 photos of that scene carefully using the overlapping-grid technique.

• In addition, take a few close-up shots of interesting details in the scene.

• Upload the images to the computer.

• Canvas 8x10 or 10x8

• 200 resolution

• Transparent background

• Drag and drop photos onto your canvas to recreate your image.

• Use the “whole” image as your background.

• It may be easier for you to resize the images BEFORE dragging them onto the canvas.

• Choose Image Image Size: then type in 400 for the pixel width.

• This will make your image small enough that when you drag it onto the canvas it will be easier to resize.

Student Project Examples:

Student Project Examples:

Project Example