Hockney in Lockdown

 

I have written earlier about Martin Gayford's book, "Spring Cannot be Cancelled". It focuses on David Hockney's work at his Normandy farmhouse during the COVID lockdown of 2020.  When I wrote that post, and when I read the book, I never dreamed that I would actually see (in person!) the art that Hockney produced during this period.  But I have just returned from Paris, where that very work is on exhibit at the Musée de l'Orangerie--and I must report that it is amazing to see in person.  I'm not usually a big fan of digital art, but this is stunning.  Photos cannot do it justice. 

 

Hockney has been "painting" with an iPad for over ten years.  This Normandy work was all produced on his iPad, and printed in a very large format. The paintings move through all four seasons as they come and go at the farm, and are assembled in a cycle or frieze format.  It is 263 feet long!  The paintings tell their story in a monumental form, reminiscent of the Bayeux Tapestry.  So it comes as no surprise to learn that Hockney was actually inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, one of Normandy's greatest treasures.

To view the work, one walks through a long, narrow corridor, which is lined with the Hockney paintings, up one side and down the other.  The seasons come and go, but you are at the same farm, seeing the same buildings, fields, and trees, as the seasons work their changes on them. The overall effect  manages to evoke simultaneously two opposing senses: that of containment and that of expansiveness.  Not to mention the pure visual fun of all the squiggles of color!  It's really quite a show.

If you won't be in Paris for the exhibition, you can still read the Gayford book, which has lots of insights from Hockney about creating art.  Or order the fold-out book of the Orangerie exhibit (apparently available in French only) which gives you a better idea of the frieze presentation.  So much to see!