David Hockney Photocubism

Student Handout Submitted by: Mike Sacco, Gelinas Jr. High, NY
Unit: Media Arts - Photography - David Hockney
Lesson: Photocubism - Photo-collages of David Hockney
Grade Level: Middle school through high school

Photocubism:
The Photo-collages of David Hockney

Intrigued by how Cubist painters incorporated multiple viewpoints of a single subject, British artist David Hockney applied it to the medium of photography. You will be creating a photo-collage based on Hockney’s work.

NOTE: This is an older lesson that uses photo film rather than digital images. You can still buy film online at several locations including Amazon. Because you can't develop film anywhere any longer, you would have to do it yourself. See below for an update.

Supplies needed:

1 roll of 36 exposure color print film. Any brand film. You can use either 100 or 400 ASA film but make sure you camera’s ASA dial is correctly set if it is not done automatically. (Obviously, this lesson was submitted before the advent of digital cameras. See the alternative below)

Alternate: To update this lesson, you would use a Digital Camera and download the images to a computer. Student then could either Photoshop (You can buy Photoshop at the Adobe Software Page) them or print them off a Printer and cut the images with Scissors. They could then glue the images with Rubber Cement to Poster Board or Bristol Board.

1. Compose a photo with a strong center of interest. Since you are taking pictures of a very wide area, you should keep your center of interest very close.

2. If your camera has a Program mode (P) you may use it for this assignment. If you’re using a semi-automatic or manual camera remember to use your meter to get the correct exposure on every shot. You must also make sure your camera is correctly focused for each shot.

3. Remember, never to move from your spot until you’re done. You may tilt the camera up and down during the shoot, but never change your shooting position.

4. Practice shooting first. The idea behind Hockney’s approach is to photograph a large scene by breaking it up into many smaller ones. You must think of your scene as having an invisible grid with overlapping squares placed upon it. Begin shooting with only your waist turned three-quarters to the left. Continue to shoot your first horizontal row of photos, remembering to always overlap the photo you just took, until you reach a position where your waist is turned three-quarters to the right.

5. Begin to shoot the second row of horizontal photos as you did previously, but you must also overlap the top of this row with the bottom of the last row.

6. Continue to shoot the entire scene always overlapping both vertically and horizontally until you complete the scene.

7. Shoot the real thing when you feel comfortable. Bring the film in for processing. Ask for matte finish and an extra set of prints.

8. See student samples on Mike Sacco's web page.

Roll due on: ________________ Collage due: _______________

Alternate: Take digital pictures and print them. Cut to fit.

Links

• David Hockney- A tributary website

• David Hockney- The official website

Books

Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective - Hockney's Pictures is the first definitive "retrospective" to show the evolution and diversity of Hockney's prolific paintings, drawings, watercolors, prints, and photography, including new and published works.

True to Life: Twenty-Five Years of Conversations with David Hockney - Hockney's quest for the perfect perspective has led him to test the limits of painting, photography and photo-collage; he believes that Cubist paintings come far closer than photography to reproducing the perspective of the human eye