Today I have been to see the David Hockney Exhibition - A Bigger Picture - at the Royal Academy of Arts. I loved it. It has to be the most visually vibrant exhibition I've ever been to. Such stunning canvasses of trees from the same spot over the seasons. A trite obsessive maybe but don't we all have those (I wonder how long it will be before I run out of something new to say about winter in my poetry!). One room at the gallery has every piece of wall space covered with canvasses - paintings done in Yorkshire. It is unusual to see so many paintings in one room. I love David's use of oranges and reds in some paintings. There is a huge painting of the Grand Canyon (on several canvasses put together) which is quite stunning. There are a few of his photo collages as well and a whole room of paintings done using the iPad. These have then been printed off on large sheets of paper and stuck together on canvasses. This reminded me of something. Everyone can have these Apps but it doesn't make you a painter. Like photography, a good photographer can get a great picture whatever camera he uses but if you aren't good even the best 'all guns blazing super-duper gadget camera' will not make you a photographer.
What surprised me about Hockney's art were the things I didn't know about, like the wonderful charcoal sketches he did before he painted the large canvasses of trees. In some cases I actually preferred the charcoal sketches and would be thrilled to have one on my wall. It was great to see Hockey's sketchbooks too and some of the original iPad paintings on iPads! They are fantastic. Hockney has certainly embraced new technology. There is also the moving image room where movies are taken by mounting cameras on the vehicle used then piecing together all the shots on large screens. You have to see it to really understand.
I knew I'd go mad in the gift shop and I had to reign in my spending! There is always another time to pick up other items. The images are still there in my head - the colour, so vibrant, so alive. I think those images will remain with me for a very long time. I don't care what Brian Sewell (art critic) says I adored this. The sheer volume of work is incredible. Do you get the feeling I liked this?!
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