Summer is officially here! Last night at approximately 7:09 pm (EDT), Summer Solistice began in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing with it longer, sunny days. Interestingly enough, the timing of the Summer Solistice depends on when the Sun reaches it’s farthest point north of the equator which makes the date vary anywhere between June 20-22.
To celebrate this favorite of seasons, let’s visually dive into the David Hockney’s pool series to cool off.
Hockney, A Bigger Splash, 1967. Acrylic on Canvas, Tate Gallery.
David Hockney (b. July 9, 1937) is a British contemporary artist well versed in painting, printmaking and photography. Inspired by his time spent in California, swimming pools are a favorite theme. Whether Hockney’s pool images are photographs or paintings, they often border on abstraction. Viewers are easily absorbed into the vibrant colors of his summer palette and through them, can feel the natural sensations of heat and calm. In 1967, Hockney won the John Moores Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool for his painting, Peter Getting Out Of Nick’s Pool.
David Hockney, John St. Clair Swimming (from Twenty Photographic Pictures), 1972. Sonnabend Collection, New York © David Hockney; photo credit Richard Schmidt
Hockney, Sun on the Pool, Composite Polaroid, 24 3/4 x 36 1/4″
In Hockney’s photomontage work, called “The Joiners”, he took Polaroids of one subject and arranged them into a grid layout.
