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Hockney's pictures.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublication details: London : Thames & Hudson, 2004.Description: 368 pages : color illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0500093148(hbk)
Subject(s):
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 759.2 HOC 1 Available T00308537
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

One of David Hockney's favourite and most frequent sayings is 'Love life ', and for nearly fifty years his art has been feted across the world because it is a celebration of what it is to be alive. All of his pictures - sometimes tender, as when he draws friends and family; sometimes playful, as in his paintings of lazy, carefree days in the pool; sometimes awe-inspiring, as with his images of the Grand Canyon - convey what it means to be in the world: to see it, to move in it, to love it. For Hockney, pictures are the perfect vehicles for communicating such feelings, and his life has been a constant exploration of how to make them in ever more vital ways. With over 320 illustrations, this is the first-ever definitive retrospective of the most popular serious artist in the world today, covering all media over almost fifty years. Presented thematically to show the evolution and diversity of Hockney's prolific paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and photography, including new and unpublished works, it also features quotes from the artist himself that illuminate the passionate thinking behind the works produced.

Pictures selected and with commentary by David Hockney.

Published with help from Gregory Evans and David Graves.

11 68 89

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In a book with so few words, this quote from Hockney rings out clearly: ?I have always believed that art should be a deep pleasure.? And it is indeed pleasure that radiates from every page of this retrospective of the British-born artist?s career. Starting with his student work of the early 1960s, Hockney has depicted quiet domestic pleasures, the faces of friends and the monuments of foreign countries with an unwavering joy in looking and seeing, even as he has employed a restless array of mediums, including oil, photo-collage, pressed paper pulp and quick, intimate watercolors. The accessibility of Hockney?s art has earned him both popular success and jeers from some quarters of the art world that tend to favor ?edginess? over happiness. This collection, which is compiled by the artist himself and includes his conversational commentary in the margins, not only gloriously documents Hockney?s career, but also provides a riposte to those who see him as a shallow technician of pretty surfaces. The book is divided into sections that showcase Hockney?s brainy engagement with the classic problems of modern art (?Problems of Depiction: Movement,? ?Space and Light?). The case for Hockney?s seriousness may have come at the expense of his playful, mischievous side, however. There would have been more than enough material for an amusing section on the male rear end, for example, which has been as much of a Hockney theme as his famous preoccupation with water. But the book?s theory-heavy arrangement is unobtrusive. There is only the briefest of introductory text, and captions are confined to titles and dates (full information on each picture is tucked away in an index). The art is allowed to speak for itself and the result is, once again, pure pleasure. (Nov. 2004) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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