David Hockney is art's Jimmy Saville. Now then, now then, now then, 60's pop icon turned into ageing caricature of themselves as a sort of blunt Yorkshire idiot savant. Owzabout that, then, guys n gals. He is likeable and his paintings are usually quite cheerful and he talks a good game and he looks and notices things but he is probably Britain's most popular living painter because he is one that everyone's heard of and he is not very difficult to understand.
BBC's Imagine showed a film last night that followed him around for three years, returning to Yorkshire to paint the countryside with prolific application to his subject but apparently bringing Californian tones to brighten the summer pictures with. It updated the similar previous documentaries that television has been allowed to do, the theme of much of which has been what it's like to be David Hockney. He thinks and talks a lot about painting, seeing and looking but whether he is a great painter or not will remain a debatable point. One minute you see him applying the broad brush as if emulsioning the dining room and then you see him casually walk up to a canvas to add one line and you can see it is perfect. But he smokes apparently constantly, even indoors at the Royal Academy, so he must have a big reputation to be allowed to do that.
It goes without saying that there should be more such things on television but we are grateful for what we get. The film didn't enhance Hockney's standing much for me but it certainly didn't lessen it. He has always been superficially at the forefront of artistic innovation with his photographic collages, fax art and other publicity grabbing maneouvres. Now he is post-photographic, using a digital camera as an aid in the construction of vast paintings of woodland that he can't ever have been in a position to get the perspective. It is impressive. It will be nice to catch it at the Royal Academy if one can.
And Hockney will continue in his own sweet way, incorrigible and knowing, a spectacular colourist- popular, likeable and possibly forever with a reputation slightly in excess of his talent.
BBC's Imagine showed a film last night that followed him around for three years, returning to Yorkshire to paint the countryside with prolific application to his subject but apparently bringing Californian tones to brighten the summer pictures with. It updated the similar previous documentaries that television has been allowed to do, the theme of much of which has been what it's like to be David Hockney. He thinks and talks a lot about painting, seeing and looking but whether he is a great painter or not will remain a debatable point. One minute you see him applying the broad brush as if emulsioning the dining room and then you see him casually walk up to a canvas to add one line and you can see it is perfect. But he smokes apparently constantly, even indoors at the Royal Academy, so he must have a big reputation to be allowed to do that.
It goes without saying that there should be more such things on television but we are grateful for what we get. The film didn't enhance Hockney's standing much for me but it certainly didn't lessen it. He has always been superficially at the forefront of artistic innovation with his photographic collages, fax art and other publicity grabbing maneouvres. Now he is post-photographic, using a digital camera as an aid in the construction of vast paintings of woodland that he can't ever have been in a position to get the perspective. It is impressive. It will be nice to catch it at the Royal Academy if one can.
And Hockney will continue in his own sweet way, incorrigible and knowing, a spectacular colourist- popular, likeable and possibly forever with a reputation slightly in excess of his talent.
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