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David Hockney Quotes

Photographer

David Hockney is a renowned British photographer, born on July 9, 1937. His works are known for their unique perspective and color application, which have had a profound impact on the development of photographic art.

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All Thinking Art People Ifs Drawing Painting Photography Artist Cameras Wells Looks Mean Way World Bits Draws I Can Paint Knows Said

Famous David Hockney Quotes

“Future art that is based on appearances won't look like the art that's gone before. Even revivals of a period are not the same.”

Looks Art Gone Periods Future Appearance Revival

Author:David Hockney

“I usually only draw myself in down periods... I suppose that's why I often draw myself looking grim. I just think, 'Let's have a look in the mirror.' When you are alone and you look in a mirror you never put on a pleasing smile. Well, you don't, do you?”

Thinking Wells Looks Periods Draws Mirrors Grim

Author:David Hockney

“If you go too far with naturalism, there is no need to even organize; just look... and paint what you see until the canvas ends.”

Ifs Needs Looks Ends Nature Paint Canvas Organize Naturalism

Author:David Hockney

“The video camera dominates art. It's a bore, it makes everything look a bit the same. If you look at things with a pencil and paper in your hand, you are going to see far more.”

Ifs Looks Art Hands Bits Paper Photography Cameras Video Bores Pencils Video Cameras

Author:David Hockney

“Always live in the ugliest house on the street - then you don't have to look at it.”

Looks Home House Streets

Author:David Hockney

“All film directors, even the ones using 3-D today, want you to look at what they chose.”

Want Looks Today Film Directors Film Directors

Author:David Hockney

“I was aware that the teaching of drawing was being stopped almost 30 years ago. And I always said, 'The teaching of drawing is the teaching of looking.' A lot of people don't look very hard.”

People Years Looks Said Hard Teaching Years Ago Drawing

Author:David Hockney

“When you stop doing something, it doesn't mean you are rejecting the previous work. That's the mistake; it's not rejecting it, it's saying, 'I have exploited it enough now and I wish to take a look at another corner.'”

Looks Mean Enough Wish Mistake Corners Rejecting Previous Work

Author:David Hockney

“Cubism was an attack on the perspective that had been known and used for 500 years. It was the first big, big change. It confused people: they said, 'Things don't look like that!'”

People Years Firsts Looks Said Bigs Used Known Perspective Confused They Said Big Changes Cubism

Author:David Hockney

“East Yorkshire, to the uninitiated, just looks like a lot of little hills. But it does have these marvelous valleys that were caused by glaciers, not rivers. So it is unusual.”

Looks Littles Doe Rivers East Hills Valleys Unusual Marvelous Glaciers Yorkshire

Author:David Hockney

“We don't all see the same way at all. Even if I'm sitting looking at you, there is always the memory of you as well. And a memory is now. So someone who's never met you before is seeing a different person. That's bound to be the case. We all see something different. I assume most people don't look very hard at anything.”

People Ifs Way Wells Looks Persons Different Hard Memories Cases Seeing Mets Sitting Assuming Bounds

Author:David Hockney

“There's no-one up there in Northern Norway, food's terrible, but it's very, very beautiful to look at, if you've got eyes, and enjoy looking.”

Ifs Looks Eye Beautiful Enjoy Terrible Very Beautiful Norway

Author:David Hockney

“We all know a mirror reflects us, if you look in it. If you move, the reflection moves. If you project from a mirror, meaning it will project an image, it's nothing to do with you. The world seen by nobody.”

Ifs Knows World Looks Moving Projects Reflection Mirrors

Author: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.”

Ifs Men Wells Looks Made Stills Form Strong Water Lines Sun Sky Dancing Depth Surface Rhythm Colour Swimming Pool Spectrum Transparency Swimming Pool

Book:Travels with Pen, Pencil and Ink

Source: Travels with Pen, Pencil and Ink

“I've no doubt that those photographs i took will make people look at everything in a more interesting way - the little tear on one piece of paper, the shadow on another. But good painting has always done that - made you see things. And the most ordinary can be the most extraordinary.”

Source: Hockney on photography: conversations with Paul Joyce

“Teaching people to draw is teaching people to look”

People Looks Teaching Draws

Author:David Hockney

About the Author

Born: July 9, 1937
Known for: Photographer
Quotes: 227

Books & Sources

David HockneyRelated source material

Hockney on photography: conversations with Paul JoyceRelated source material

True to life: twenty-five years of conversations with David HockneyRelated source material

David Hockney photographsRelated source material

Art & DesignRelated source material

David Hockney: a retrospectiveRelated source material

David Hockney: grafiekRelated source material

Portrait of David HockneyRelated source material

Travels with Pen, Pencil and InkRelated source material

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