DAVID HOCKNEY: PHOTOGRAPHS

HOCKNEY PHOTO-COLLAGE

Hockney considered there to be a "flaw in photography" and it's single point perspective not allowing a multi-viewpoint look at multi-faceted people, character and personalities. He described conventional photography as "looking at the world from the point of view of a paralysed Cyclops - for a split second". To this end he experimented with using multiple photographs, from different perspectives, heights and angles to capture his subjects building a 3D almost cubist and Picasso inspired approach to his photographic works. he started using multiple Polaroid photos but eventually became dissatisfied with the borders so move on to 35mm film.

Billy and Audrey Wilder 1982

One of Hockney's earlier photographic collages using Polaroid pictures to capture Billy Wilder and his wife. It demonstrates the technique excellently and represents the multiple sides to their characters. As with Kerby (1975) mentioned earlier it again distorts and plays with perspective, scale and multiple elements to draw the eye around the frame. The regulated, gridded form cleverly encourages the audience to see the image as individual elements as well as a whole.

Gregory Swimming 1982

Similar in layout to the polaroid grid of Billy and Audrey Wilder but due to the movement of the character a multiple character swimming around the pool is created repeated and mirrored almost in multiple frames. This encompasses Hockney's lifelong fascination with water as well as his multi-photo technique. The movement is captured from a huge variety of angles capturing the movement in detail as well as telling a story and narrative as a whole.

Scrabble Game 1983

This is an excellent example of his 35mm photo-montages and centres around a family game of scrabble. It captures the characters playing, the movement, highs, lows and storytelling of the game from the viewpoint of Hockney also playing. the layout os exciting the images exploding from the board at the centre of the game and the size of the images and this layout really give the piece a kinetic energy.

Pearblossom Highway 1986

Not as much kinetic energy as Scrabble game above but a wonderful expressionistic approach to capturing a scene with multiple photographs. This allows a texture, forced perspective and fragmented approach to the subject matter. The use of colour and real, yet unreal hyperrealism of the image is also enhanced.

I have already been experimenting and investigating this approach from a video point of view with multiple images used to create multi faceted characters. I want to try this technique with multiple images of characters in some of my documentary work. Although movement can be used to do this in video/film work this can make the images merely seem cinematic. I want to try and show the multi-faceted nature of the characters appearing in the piece and a variation on this technique. This could be multiple screens, or elements within one screen.

What I have learnt and will take forward.

• Experimenting and investigating fractured multiple images like Hockney's photography pieces using point of view with multiple images used to create multi faceted characters. I want to try this technique with multiple images of characters in some of my documentary work. Although movement can be used to do this in video/film work this can make the images merely seem cinematic. 
• Try and show the multi-faceted nature of the characters appearing in the piece and a variation on this technique. this could be multiple screens, or elements within one screen.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/david-hockney