Book Description
HOCKNEY'S PEOPLE showcases the large and central body of work based on the artist's personal relationships, explored in revealing and at times playful artworks. For the past fifty years, Hockney's most persistent subject matter in paintings, drawings, collages, and photoworks, has been portraiture of people, usually those very close to him, as well as self- portraits. These are works that reflect the intimate and often intense stories of this artist's life. They also explore different formal methods of representing the passage of time and the unavoidable but marvelous stillness of portraiture. The book includes fascinating sequences as Hockney paints certain subjects on and off for decades; the special qualities attached to depictions of lovers; and the range of celebrities, writers, and artists--Billy Wilder, Armistead Maupin, W. H. Auden, Henry Moore, Christopher Isherwood--who have been part of a very full life. Several new watercolors, never before published, are included.
About the Author
Kay Heymer is a prolific curator and art historian who organized the exhibition "David Hockney: Exciting Times Are Ahead" in Bonn, Germany, in 2001.Marco Livingstone is an art critic and curator who has written extensively on the work of David Hockney, including his most recent "Sitting for Hockney: David Hockney: Paintings on Paper."
Hockney's People FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ever since he made his first portraits and self-portraits at the age of sixteen, David Hockney has been fascinated by people -- "the human clay," as W. H. Auden put it -- and how they have been represented throughout the history of art. As much as any other artist in recent years, he has embraced, invigorated, and often subverted traditional portraiture, making it a central concern of his art. Through a careful selection of works both iconic and previously unpublished, this book explores the many ways in which Hockney has depicted the people around him, be they famous names such as Andy Warhol, Christopher lsherwood, and W. H. Auden or lifelong friends such as Henry Geldzahler and Celia Birtwell, among many others. It tells the story of the artist's relationships with family, friends, and lovers, illustrated by works ranging from the intimate and frequently moving studies of his parents and partners to his very recent large-scale double portraits in watercolor. Revealing and always touching, Hockney's People is both a unique record of the life and loves of one of the world's best-known artists and a valuable glimpse of the moment when life and art meet.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Anglo-American artist David Hockney is best known, perhaps unfairly, for his near-iconic images of a contemporary American, particularly Californian, lifestyle: empty pools and cartoon palm trees in pastel shades drenched in emotional detachment. As this title shows, Hockney's depth of purpose and breadth of ability should not be discounted. Concentrating specifically on the portrait, this beautifully illustrated book, containing 233 color and 13 black-and-white illustrations, deftly chronicles Hockney's mastery of this genre within a variety of artistic techniques and aesthetic styles over his half-century career. Through Hockney's photomontages; watercolor portraits; almost improvisational, Picasso-like line drawings; and controversial work on perspective and the camera lucida, this title emphatically proclaims the artist as an astute observer of character. Smaller collections looking for broader coverage may opt for a title such as Paul Melia's David Hockney: Paintings. For larger or more comprehensive art collections, this is highly recommended.-Jeff Ingram, Newport P.L., OR Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
Book Info
