Painting With Photographs

How does one see? A question asked for hundreds of years, especially in art and inevitably answered by every artist through his or her work. However, for David Hockney, this question has dominated his work. His ever changing style and medium is evidence of his continuously changing perception of life and “reality”. However, his struggles with perception and reality become especially apparent in his work with photography and camera, which is characterized by both his attitude and his studies of Picasso and Cubism.

Even as a child, Hockney was always controversial. In school, he did poorly in order to pursue art. He registered for the draft as a continuous objector because he didn’t want to do regular service work. He convinced his parents to send him to art school instead of pursuing a job like the rest of his siblings. It was at art school that he discovered Pablo Picasso’s art which would forever challenge him to change his perspective. In art, his perspective would change through the medium of photography.

Hockney started working with photography like everyone else does, taking pictures mainly for documental value. He began in the 60’s with a Polaroid. He used these photos as a memory aid for his painting, but as his painting started to mirror the photographs, he changed his style. He believed that photos did not accurately portray the way that humans see and perceive the world around them. He began joining photos together. He would take pictures over the course of a day or several days and combine them. These composite Polariods, or “joiners” as he called them, were unlike any other photo collages. He later bought a 35 mm camera and produced larger and more intricate photo collages. He believed that photography lacked a sense of time and that by combining the pictures in this way, he was able to not only add an element of time to the photos, but also more accurately represent the movement and function of the human eye.

With this new perspective gleaned from his photographic study, he went back to paintings and began to look at them more critically. He started to see something different in the classical paintings beginning in the 1500’s and so started to investigate. He believed that the classical artists used optics to alter their perspective so they could draw and paint more accurately. He published this thesis in 2001 and again caused quite a stir. He also translated his photographic lessons to his paintings and these can be easily recognized in later paintings.

Response Questions:
Do #1 and your choice of 2 or 3.

1. Do you believe that photography can be considered an art form, or is it only for documentation? Do you think that photography is “one-eyed” or gives a flawed perspective? Why or why not? Did this presentation change any of your thoughts about the photographic medium?

2. Do you think that using optical devices or memory aids, such as photography or mirrors, is considered cheating? Why or why not? Is the skill of the artist measured by his ability to see or his ability to use his particular medium?

3. Do you feel that Cubism is about abstraction, or about perception? Is there a difference between the two? Can it be both? Can you draw a parallel between the Cubist movement and Hockney’s photographic movement?

Olympia's Look

In the story “Olympia’s Look” by Susan Vreeland, readers are taken on a journey through Edouard Manet’s life and paintings via historical fiction. Vreeland crafts a narrative based on facts to describe and infer about the man’s life and the lives of those around him. The story is written from the point of view of his wife, Suzanne, after Manet’s death. This allows Vreeland to make speculations about Edouard through Suzanne and also describe her character. Suzanne is self-described as a tolerant and placid individual. She would do anything for Edouard to “keep the peace”. She stood by him through his affairs, though she was hurt by them, and did not forgive. This personality was evidenced by one of the passages:

“The next morning she had begun her private program of self-development. She would be alone. She’d have to get over anger, timidity, and grief all at the same time. She’d have to speak her mind. She couldn’t retreat into her music. How inconsequential her first efforts were. Helene, this soup is cold, and, Edouard, I’d prefer the window closed. At least it was a start.
The day she seized the letter had been a big step.”

Most any woman who suspects an affair would usually have no trouble intercepting a letter that is to be delivered to another lover and would probably confront their husband directly. So why not Suzanne? She is a genuinely nice, easy-going person who does not like to disturb things. This is the same as not even speaking her mind on simple things, such as preferring warm soup or the position of the window. For most people, it would be natural to express one’s desire for something as simple as basic comfort. However, this is difficult for Suzanne, because she does not wish to upset him.

So, why is Suzanne so adamant about maintaining the status quo? Is it because she had no free will? Was she beaten by a male figure? Did she feel like women were supposed to be subservient to men? The answer to all of these questions is no. She had free will and the ability to change. This is evidenced by her seizing the letter, speaking her mind, and choosing to have the portraits copied. Her personality is a caring one, and because of this, she does not want to cause anyone unhappiness, ever. This is why she tolerates the affairs and does not expose them, because she believes that if it makes Edouard happy, then she has no right to take that from him because she loves him. She has spent her life trying to make him happy and thus would not want to rob him of this happiness, even if it is at her own expense. The grief of Edouard’s death, and the release of the burden of having to walk on eggshells to assure his happiness (or so she believed was necessary), was the catalyst of change. It allowed her to realize that her happiness is important too and that she could still be a caring loving person while speaking her mind and having things her way every once in a while.

Children of the Screen

In her essay, Children of the Screen, Hannah Baylon asserts that people are completely controlled and exhausted by media and advertising. She claims that media dictates the social and cultural norms which in turn drive and control people. She advocates an upheaval of this system to regain human ingenuity and creativity, as well as our true identities. While I agree with and support the majority of her claims, I do not believe that being a “child of the screen” is all bad.
There is no doubt that television and advertising drives people’s actions. Commercials have become increasingly sexual since the “sexual revolution” of the 60’s. These commercials, combined with clothing manufacturers producing clothes with less and less fabric, have had drastic effects such as skyrocketing teen pregnancy. However, events such as the upcoming Super Bowl, which drive and promote these commercials, bring people together. In thousands of households this weekend, people will be joining for food, laughs and a good time, albeit around the TV. Humans are by nature social beings. In ancient Rome, people would gather in the coliseum to watch the gladiators. The only difference now is that more people can partake and it allows people to entertain in their own homes. This is far from the nightly “vegging out” that Baylon uses as evidence. Though the nightly “vegging out” does occur it is not to say that the TV is strictly a bad thing.
There is also an element of media that promotes creativity. That element is known as the “viral video” which can be found on YouTube. Though riddled with silly videos of people immolating themselves or imposing other various pains and ailments upon themselves, there are many creative and useful videos. Many people can find how-to videos for things that have nothing to do with screens, like learning to play the guitar, or change the oil on a car, or make chainmail out of wire. These videos allow people to discover the innate creativity and brilliance that Baylon claims we have faded away from.
Though Baylon makes many good and true claims, I do believe that she does not recognize the bonuses of being a “child of the screen”. I would support a revolution and a break away from media wholeheartedly as it is destroying our culture and our human identity, but I wouldn’t say that we need to erase it completely.

Dorian Grey

Literature and film is often created not only for entertainment, but also to relay a moral message. The Picture of Dorian Gray is one such film. In this film, the main character Dorian Grey is painted by an aspiring London painter named Basil. After the portrait is commissioned, Dorian is influenced by Basil’s friend, Lord Henry, to make a wish to trade his soul for everlasting youth. His wish is unknowingly granted by a statue of a cat (also an Egyptian god), and as time goes on, he does not age. Starting with leaving the woman that loves him, Dorian starts down a long path of cruelty, vice, and sin. With every act the painting becomes older and distorted and hideous, a reflection of his soul. He hides the painting and becomes consumed by making sure that no one ever finds it. By the end of the movie, after committing at least two murders, he realizes the error of his ways and tries to destroy the portrait, and in doing so kills himself.
One can glean several messages from watching this film. The first thing that one can learn is that beauty is not just skin deep. Beauty also has to do with one’s personality and one’s actions; in essence, one’s soul. The portrait of Dorian showed the man beneath the skin, the man without his social mask. His portrait was ugly because of the terrible actions he committed and the way he treated other people. Had he stayed the same old Dorian, a man of good attitude as well as good countenance, then the portrait would have been the same handsome man it was at the time it was commissioned. One can also learn that it is unacceptable to trade the soul for anything, especially youth or beauty. It wasn’t until Dorian made such a trade and was lead to a life of hedonism by Lord Henry that his soul was corrupted. By trading his soul, Dorian opened the door for cruelty and vice, something he was not prone to by nature.
My favorite scene from the movie was when Dorian was getting into the coach after leaving Gladys, Basil’s niece. As he hesitates and contemplates what he has done and then speaks to the driver, the camera view shows his head through the circle of the coach driver’s whip. This foreshadows Dorian’s imminent death and links to the previous scene when the sailor had a rope tied into a small noose, leading the viewer to believe that Dorian would indeed be strangled, perhaps even by the “dead” sailor.

Image 18

The case of image eighteen is a peculiar one. It is a portrait of an old man and an old woman, sitting in what one could assume to be their living room. They are proper and formal, but are not arrogant about it. This can be evidenced by the way they are sitting, especially the old woman with legs together instead of crossed and hands placed daintily on top of her legs. However, she is smiling, which shows that she is not only content, but also polite. The old man is dressed in a suit, but is not stiff and uncomfortable. They are from an era of respect and self respect. They respect their house which is tidy and clean and the books on the lower shelf are put away and orderly. There are flowers on the table and a small mirror for reflection, perhaps to look upon days gone by.

The old man is reminiscent, looking through some sort of old book or photo album. He is perhaps disappointed with his situation in life or in some of his decisions. He sits distant from his wife, not sharing his thoughts or actions with her. This could be either out of formality, or perhaps because he does not love her as he used to. The woman is selfless and patient. Throughout her life she has had to wait upon her husband. She has also had to be strong, especially emotionally, as he has been distant at times, evidenced by them being seated apart from one another. The old man was not malicious in his negligence of his wife, but rather was too focused on other things, such as work and finances. However, they have endured through thick and thin, together.