Hockney Joiner

Hockney Joiner

This weeks challenge was research a specific technique adopted by David Hockney and create our own "Hockney Joiner" piece of work. In the early 1980s, Hockney began to produce photo collages, which he called "joiners". Using varying numbers of Polaroid snaps or photolab-prints of a single subject Hockney arranged a patchwork to make a composite final image.

Artist's Photographs

This is my first photograph which has been produced by the artist - David Hockney. It is a highly skilled image which has been created by taking multiple shots whilst moving the camera around his subject.
I was drawn to this first image as i really loved how all the buildings featured were slightly wonky, which added to the depth of field of the final image. It created an interesting new perspective to a regular street scene.  I liked the way that this image is obviously made up of many different photographs, however, the final image portrayed is still very recognisable and highly detailed.  We are able to see the spokes on the motorbike wheels and even the window panes perfectly.  I also found it interesting how all the colours had a high contrast, I liked the way the dark leaves of the trees contrasted with the lighter buildings and we could clearly see the blue sky in the horizon. 

With this image i found it even more complex than the others which i had featured in this post. The detail that has been achieved in the above image is phenomenal and it is very difficult to believe at first glance that the overall photograph is made up of multiple shots.  I loved the bold colours in this piece and the way that the sky has been given drama by using so many different shades of blue.  I think that the horizon really draws us into this photograph and gives the road a strong focal point to the photograph.
Hockney has also created a type of story within the image with all of the "stop" signs, which makes the viewer want to discover the background behind this piece.

My final artist image is slightly different, due to it featuring an actual person instead of a landscape image. Once again i liked how everything didn't quite fit where it was supposed to which also helps to create an interesting feel to the final image.  This image has been created in a different style to the other images and is an earlier piece.  Initially Hockney used multiple Polaroid photographs lined up in a grid like pattern in order to compose these early pieces. The subject would actually move while being photographed so that the piece would show the movements of the subject seen from the photographer's perspective. It was only in later works that Hockney changed his technique and moved the camera around the subject instead.
I liked the way that this image is more distorted that the two previous pieces, it gives an almost cubist feel to the work and I found it very striking.  We are able to see the subjects facial features and expression, however, it is a more abstract view.

My Own Photograph

This is my final piece which i created for this task, i used the first two images as my inspiration as i felt that i would be able to add more dimension than if i was to use a person as my subject. I also used Hockney's later technique of camera movement around the subject as I felt that this would allow me to capture more details within my piece. I used Photoshop to create the layers effect of the joiner.  I was very pleased with the overall image which kept much of the details, shape and form of my house.  I liked the way that the pattern of the brickwork was still visible and the colours of the plants in the foreground created interest.  I think with a highly coloured image, the effect may be more striking, however, this image was unfortunately taken on a dull day with enhancement of colour very limited. I liked this technique and I may take this idea further when completing my final piece, perhaps using different shapes of individual photos to enhance the effect.


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