Annotated Bibliography
Pioch, Nicolas. “Hockney, David”. WebMuseum: Hockney, David. 2002. WebMuseum. 26 January 2009. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hockney/.
This article gave a brief overview of David Hockney’s life, including his transitions through various art movements and genres. He began in the “pop-art” genre, but by the time he painted this portrait, he was into a more traditional style. The article also dealt with his move to California and how this affected his art.
The portrait itself is more striking, according to the author, and done in a more traditionally representational manner. The author also commented on Hockney’s homo-erotic content, noticeable around this time in his art, but not necessarily noticeable here. The part of the article that showed some insight into the setting of the work was the author’s description of Hockney’s move to California. The move caused Hockney to “respond with such artistic depth to the sea, sun, sky, young men, and luxury that his art took on a wholly new, increasingly naturalistic dimension.” This was interesting because many of these elements are evident in the painting. There’s more detail in the setting, the colors and furnishing of the apartment is luxurious, something I had not noticed at first, and there is an unexplainable depth to Mr. Percy. He seems very pensive.
“Texts”. Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy by David Hockney. 2004. Tate Collection. 26 January 2009. http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=6534&searchid=9399&tabview=text.
This article dealt more directly with the composition and background information of the portrait. The article mentioned the people involved in the painting, how it was painted, and some symbolism that also coincided with my interpretation of the painting.
This article reveals Mr. and Mrs. Clark as Hockney’s friends. It was also painted in their home in a style more realistic and simple than his previous works. Generally, his paintings have a cyclical movement in the eyes of the people. In this picture though, the couple both looks towards the viewer, creating a triangle. I thought the painting to the left was interesting to me, and I could not make out what it was, but this article says it’s the artists own work, A Rake’s Progress.
The symbolism and pose of the work is interesting. The article mentions Mr. Clark being relaxed but having a watchful expression. This was done from a photograph of Mr. Clark, and took Hockney close to 12 times. Mrs. Clark has a more wistful expression. The lilies in the picture are associated with her and symbolize annunciation and feminine purity. The cat is more associated with Mr. Clark and symbolizes a libertine and someone who does as they please. This matched up with my interpretation of him being more aloof. The last part of the article that interested me was “Hockney has pointed out that his painting reversed one of the conventions of wedding portraiture, by seating the man while the woman stands. The gulf between the couple represented by the open window and the gaze of the third party (artist or viewer) turned out to be prophetic: the marriage did not last.” I thought there was a tiff in the relationship.
“Work”. Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy by David Hockney. 2004. Tate Collection. 26 January 2009. http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=6534.
This article gave more background into who Mr. and Mrs. Clark were and how the portrait was painted by Hockney. They were his friends, fashion designer Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell. The portrait was done shortly after their marriage. Ossie’s pose was actually based off of a snapshot of him after he woke up and got out of bed, and before he put on his shoes. This is why Ossie looks more at ease and aloof because he did not actually pose for the picture.
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