David Hockney’s Birthday: July 9
Septuagenarian artist David Hockney is known for a lot of things—his remarkable skills as a painter, photographer, and draughtsman, his contributions to the Pop art movement, and the open exploration in his work of gay love as early as 1961 with such works as “We Two Boys Together Clinging”. Quotes by David Hockney:
“Water in swimming pools changes its look more than in any other form… its colour can be man-made and its dancing rhythms reflect not only the sky but, because of its transparency, the depth of the water as well. If the water surface is almost still and there is a strong sun, then dancing lines with the colours of the spectrum appear everywhere.”
“Bohemia was against the suburbs, and now the suburbs have taken over. I mean, the anti-smoking thing is all anti-Bohemia. Bohemia is gone now. When people say, well wasn’t it amazing saying you were gay in 1960, I point out, well, I lived in Bohemia, and Bohemia is a tolerant place. You can’t have a smoke-free Bohemia. You can’t have a drug-free Bohemia. You can’t have a drink-free Bohemia. Now they’re all worried about their fucking curtains, sniffing curtains for tobacco and stuff like that.”
“Nobody’s taking any notice of the avant-garde any more. They’re finding they’ve lost their authority. They thought they would get authority by damaging the other, earlier establishment. But by doing that you damage all authority.”
“Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.”