David Hockney is generally known for his many famous artworks. David Hockney was one of the most popular British artists who left an enormous impact on the art community. He has inspired people around the world in many ways including art and his courage. He was born in Bradford, England, where his family lived together. The Hockney family consisted of his parents, three brothers, and one sister. Hockney looked up to his dad other than anyone else because of how hard he worked. In Hockney’s young age he was talented in art and was already aware that he wanted to work with art his entire life. At the age of sixteen, he chose to attend The Bradford School of Art. Hockney mostly studied customary works of art and still life scenery that are still found in his artwork today. Most of his companions in school had a propensity of procrastinating, while he was the exact opposite. Hockney was continually completing work and recalls staying from morning to late evening dealing with his projects.
Many years later, he was selected to serve in the military but ended up spending most of his time helping aid soldiers. In the year of 1959, Hockney proceeded to study at the Royal College of Art in London. He was inspired by various artists such as Picasso. Hockney has always looked upon Picasso and has studied him during his entire career. During the current period, the school Hockney was attending required artists to write an essay with their final portfolio. He refused to present an essay due to the fact that he believed it was only fair he was critiqued on his artwork rather than an essay. Surprisingly, the school resulted in altering the policy which permitted Hockney to graduate.
Hockney had his first art exhibition in the year of 1963, which was successful and played a drastic role in how far he’s come today. Over the next few years he lived in Hollywood and Malibu, while he taught art at two universities. One of the universities was the famous UCLA, which is known for having a strong art program. Hockney created some of his most popular artwork and started getting further into design during his time there. Around the year of 1973, he moved to France and started to become a huge name in the art community. Hockney often traveled which would change the style of his paintings based on where he was at the time. He was always appreciative of how his work would turn out coming to the realization that “All art is contemporary, if it’s alive, and if it’s not alive, what’s the point of it?”.
In Hockney’s later years he experienced a medical emergency that impaired his speech slightly, but not his ability to create art. He seemed to care more about his work rather than his speech because art made him happier. After recovery, Hockney continued to work on his art and continues to do so today. He continues to use physical materials such as brushes, as well as current technology. Some of Hockney’s latest artwork was created on an Apple device and posted to his website. A tremendous amount of people are still interested and inspired by his artwork and the world will forever be impacted. Hockney has inspired many young artists over the years and continues to provide content for his audience. Something many people don’t know is that he has influenced the world in many ways other than art and photography.
When Hockney moved to California he was extraordinarily happy with the weather and the different swimming pools. He embraced exploration and diversity in many of his works. “A Bigger Splash” is one of his most famous pool themed portraits. Hockney took it upon himself to come out to his supporters that he was a homosexual. Homosexuality was illegal in the United States during that time. This attracted the eyes of many newspapers, magazines, and reporters. Hockney had a very rough time opening up to the world about his sexuality, but when he stumbled upon the artwork of Sergei Diaghilev that motivated him to be free. Diaghilev was one of Hockney’s many inspirations, another being famous poet Walt Whitman. Hockney’s work “We Two Boys Together Clinging” was inspired by one of Whitman’s famous poems and embraced Hockney’s sexuality. He often mixed art and photography with his sexuality, painting portraits and taking photos of his loved one. Hockney felt as if “The moment you can learn to deal with homosexuality in art, it’s quite an amazing moment.” Hockney inspired others to be themselves and embrace their true feelings. His life and love will always be displayed to the community in his artwork. Hockney claims “What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because art is about sharing.” Hockney uses art to express his emotion and love. His artwork caused some emotional suffering while also gaining him much respect and admiration. In Hockney’s later years a documentary was released titled “The Bigger Splash”. The documentary was banned in many countries due to the explicit portrayal of homosexuality. In this hard time, he had to embrace his inner feelings and remain strong with courage.Hockney was inspired by other artists and began studying often. He studied the works of many famous artists and created small pieces into his own image. Hockney’s famous work “Blue Guitar” was inspired by Wallace Stevens, who was highly inspired by Picasso. During this time he mostly worked with naturalism and has inspired many artists such as Cecily Brown and Chuck Close. While sticking with naturalism, Hockney transitioned to painting interiors and exteriors of homes using a variety of extraordinary colors. The more versatile he was able to be, the more audience he would attract due to the differences in what people find pleasing to the eye.Continuing to evolve in his artwork, Hockney began experimenting with newer technologies such as computers and Apple products. He used a brush application on his iPad to create modern works of art with just a stylus. Hockney held an exhibit where he showcased more than 100 of his works created on an iPad. In addition to using Apple products and computers, he also started taking massive amounts of photos with a Polaroid camera and shifted gears to focus on photography. Hockney had many portraits he created by taking photos very quickly of a moving person or object. He called the artwork “Joiners”, and according to Hockney, he liked seeing things “through a window”.He later began using laser printers in many of his most recent works. Hockney also began sending his artwork through a fax machine and claimed it was a “wonderful machine”. He realized that technology was starting to become more of a trend and took advantage of that by shifting his artwork as time moved on. Hockney is able to show the strong pride he has in himself by adapting to new advancements. During his career, he has been an inspiration to many, including himself. The artwork Hockney is able to create speaks his message in a strong and artistic fashion.
Hockney was an immensely talented artist who continues to inspire many with his works today. Not only does he inspire others with his artwork, but he also inspires other people through his actions and opinions. Hockney wasn’t afraid to show the world who he was and continues to have courage in himself throughout his career. Just recently, in 2019, one of Hockney’s most famous works sold for around 90 million dollars at an auction. He has donated many of his well-known works for charity as well as many check donations. Hockney has donated around 78 million dollars total with his donations. With his total worth only being around 34 million dollars, he shows his generosity and selflessness.
Despite having many health problems, Hockney is still generally happy with his accomplishments and does not want to stop painting. Creating artwork fills him with excitement and helps bring peace. In his book “David Hockney” he states, “As you get older, it gets a bit harder to keep the spontaneity in you, but I work at it.” He inspires people around the world to never give up regardless of the situations, while also bringing joy to others in his artwork. Hockney continues to paint daily for around five hours and mentions that it makes him feel much younger.
He has many achievements and works that will last a lifetime. Hockney was honored with the Award of Achievement in 1993, then received an honorary membership to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences years later. On top of his achievements, he has artwork in many museums around the world that people continue to visit every day. With constant public attention, his ideas and memories will never die. Hockney has inspired his loved ones, people in the art community, and many others around the world. He is not only an artist, but he is also an icon in society. David Hockney will always be remembered in the art community, along with his many ideas on homosexuality and continuous pride in himself.
