Hockney Joiners (P)

David Hockney 

JOINERS

The art of arranging photographs - a chance happening



 ‘Joiners’  = caught the eye of the public in the 1980’s.

Hockney’s creation of the “joiners” occurred accidentally. He noticed in the late sixties that photographers were using cameras with wide-angle lenses to take pictures. He did not like such photographs because they always came out somewhat distorted. He was working on a painting of a living room and terrace in Los Angeles. He took Polaroid shots of the living room and glued them together, not intending for them to be a composition on their own. Upon looking at the final composition, he realized it created a narrative, as if the viewer was moving through the room. He began to work more and more with photography after this discovery and even stopped painting for a period of time to exclusively pursue this new style of photography.
(http://www.shootingfilm.net/2013/01/joiners-polaroid-collages-by-david.html)

Like the painters Braque and Picasso had used cubism to create a new way of viewing the world and images around them from different view points, Hockney was now creating this idea through photography.


Hockney began this style of art by taking Polaroid photographs of one subject and arranging them into a grid layout. Like that of his mother above.....

In some the subject would move while being photographed so that the piece would show the movements of the subject seen from the photographer's perspective


Then he started moving the actual camera around the subject


Over a 5 year period he focused his time trying and testing out photography.......He later said that,  photography will never equal painting!

See this link to hear and learn about Hockney's commission work Pearblossom Highway

https://youtu.be/sD123svCFHQ

I do think that Hockneys Joiners are an interesting view of the world. As an overall finish I do feel that they not the strongest finish and are still lacking work. I feel like Dada its a rather a pointless final.

I often wonder if the test making and ideas that turn into nothing are a waste of time... I know I'm lacking the easiest route to the way I want to get to my finished outcome.... Like the Reivers T-shirt that I wanted to print....I could of used the transfer idea sooner giving me a chance to really get the final finish correct and then had enough time to check the brief. Which I felt I didn't do and worry that it may have cost me marks now..(see the final t-shirt blog)

I do however think that Hockney would have used his findings in future works with or without knowing it. Like me doing Lino Cuts and not using them because something didn't work or I preferred a different medium.

Its all so very draining, Pro and Cons, What or Why, Works or Doesnt! Opinion and Expression

IS LEARNING YOURSELF REALLY THE BEST WAY TO GO?

Like Hockney trying out the photos I do feel that if expected to learn by my own findings then I'm lacking the basic knowledge of how a camera works never mind the field of vision or special effects! I think I would benefit from some shown examples......Is my mobile (although modern and up to date) good enough to capture the images I want or need to achieve.....

I need to research other photographers and the way they work to decide what it actually is I would like to achieve!


I may email Sam Cornwall and see if he's available to spend an afternoon showing me some examples of how to get the best out of my phone, composition or lighting. (see blog Sam Cornwall for more info)