David Hockney
Double Portrait, 2011
Signed 'David Hockney' and dated '11' (lower right); numbered '20/25' (lower left)
iPad drawing on printed paper
94 by 71.1 cm (37 by 28 in.)
69591
Executed in 2011 in a numbered edition of 25. This work is number 20 from the edition. David Hockney has experimented with digital art for almost four decades, starting circa...
Executed in 2011 in a numbered edition of 25. This work is number 20 from the edition.
David Hockney has experimented with digital art for almost four decades, starting circa 1985 when he first began using the early computer program called Quantel Paintbox. He acquired his first iPhone in 2008, utilizing its drawing applications to produce spontaneous sketches of flowers and banal objects sent to friends and family, and in 2010 Hockney upgraded to an iPad. The artist’s early embrace of digital mediums and innovative use of vanguard technology certainly contributed to the disruption of traditional hierarchical structures within the art historical canon, a dialogue which he continues today. The present work exemplifies the liberatory nature of the iPad as a drawing tool; functioning as a digital sketch pad, it gives Hockney the ability to create anywhere. No longer confined to a studio space or constructing staged still lifes, the artist can transport his art tools with him and spontaneously capture organic scenes, people, and objects as they occur around him. This iPad drawing underscores his constant engagement with everyday objects, specifically two pairs of scissors placed on a table. Hockney elevates the mundane and transforms familiar items into artworks bolstered by the immediacy which the iPad affords. Scholar Mary Creed reinforces this idea, noting that there is an “accessibility to these [iPad] prints because you can imagine how they were created. With Hockney’s paintings, so much of the process is hidden, but with the iPad, there’s much more evidence of mark making.” [1] Ironically, Hockney’s use of digital tools reveals the tenuous imperfections and distinct human touch not found in his earlier acrylic works; it provides insight into his process – how he moved his hand (or stylus) across the tablet to create visible and gestural strokes.
[1] M. Creed, 'The iPad en plein air: two works by David Hockney' in Christie’s: Artists and Makers, March 2, 2022, https://www.christies.com/en/stories/david-hockneys-ipad-paintings-d7e94cbda70c4ddda6c24fcbce6affdd
David Hockney has experimented with digital art for almost four decades, starting circa 1985 when he first began using the early computer program called Quantel Paintbox. He acquired his first iPhone in 2008, utilizing its drawing applications to produce spontaneous sketches of flowers and banal objects sent to friends and family, and in 2010 Hockney upgraded to an iPad. The artist’s early embrace of digital mediums and innovative use of vanguard technology certainly contributed to the disruption of traditional hierarchical structures within the art historical canon, a dialogue which he continues today. The present work exemplifies the liberatory nature of the iPad as a drawing tool; functioning as a digital sketch pad, it gives Hockney the ability to create anywhere. No longer confined to a studio space or constructing staged still lifes, the artist can transport his art tools with him and spontaneously capture organic scenes, people, and objects as they occur around him. This iPad drawing underscores his constant engagement with everyday objects, specifically two pairs of scissors placed on a table. Hockney elevates the mundane and transforms familiar items into artworks bolstered by the immediacy which the iPad affords. Scholar Mary Creed reinforces this idea, noting that there is an “accessibility to these [iPad] prints because you can imagine how they were created. With Hockney’s paintings, so much of the process is hidden, but with the iPad, there’s much more evidence of mark making.” [1] Ironically, Hockney’s use of digital tools reveals the tenuous imperfections and distinct human touch not found in his earlier acrylic works; it provides insight into his process – how he moved his hand (or stylus) across the tablet to create visible and gestural strokes.
[1] M. Creed, 'The iPad en plein air: two works by David Hockney' in Christie’s: Artists and Makers, March 2, 2022, https://www.christies.com/en/stories/david-hockneys-ipad-paintings-d7e94cbda70c4ddda6c24fcbce6affdd