David Hockney at the Tate

Rating:
Summary: An introspective Hockney on his Tate restrospective
Review: Since he burst upon the art scene in the middle of the Sixties, David Hockney has been on of Britain's most successful painters. To mark the artist's 50th birthday in 1988, London's Tate Gallery staged a major retrospective of Hockney's work. "David Hockeny at the Tate" was prepared for the BBC's South Bank" show and features a walk-through interview with the artist conducted by Melvyn Bragg. So often we are disappointed when we hear an artist/writer/actor/musician talk about their work. That is not a problem with this effort as Hockney talks about the inspiration behind several of his major works such as "Portrait of My Father," "Mulholland Drive" and "We Two Boys Together, Clinging." One of the best parts of this 55 minute program is when the artist explains how he constructs his composite photographs, as in "A Visit with Christopher and Don." There are certainly gaps in terms of covering particular aspects of Hockney's career, but this is due more to the limitations of Tate's collection than omissions by Hockney or Bragg. I think this program is superior to "David Hockney: Portrait of an Artist," made five years earlier in the artist's London studio. This is the one I would recommend for showing to art students who will be fascinated to learn the thinking of one of the last century's greatest artists.

Rating:
Summary: An introspective Hockney on his Tate restrospective
Review: Since he burst upon the art scene in the middle of the Sixties, David Hockney has been on of Britain's most successful painters. To mark the artist's 50th birthday in 1988, London's Tate Gallery staged a major retrospective of Hockney's work. "David Hockeny at the Tate" was prepared for the BBC's South Bank" show and features a walk-through interview with the artist conducted by Melvyn Bragg. So often we are disappointed when we hear an artist/writer/actor/musician talk about their work. That is not a problem with this effort as Hockney talks about the inspiration behind several of his major works such as "Portrait of My Father," "Mulholland Drive" and "We Two Boys Together, Clinging." One of the best parts of this 55 minute program is when the artist explains how he constructs his composite photographs, as in "A Visit with Christopher and Don." There are certainly gaps in terms of covering particular aspects of Hockney's career, but this is due more to the limitations of Tate's collection than omissions by Hockney or Bragg. I think this program is superior to "David Hockney: Portrait of an Artist," made five years earlier in the artist's London studio. This is the one I would recommend for showing to art students who will be fascinated to learn the thinking of one of the last century's greatest artists.