Photography has been questioned within the art world since the invention of camera obscura, also known as a pinhole image. There have been arguments whether it is an important aspect of some artists’ practice, without the photography element being immediately noticed and often used by major artists not typically named a photographer. In this essay, I will discuss David Hockney’s polaroid photograph ‘joiners’ Pearblossom Hwy, 11-18th April 1986. I will research the creative aspects of the artwork and the message that the artist is trying to convey. More specifically, I will analyse how photography is a necessary part of the process. 

David Hockney is a British artist born in 1937, who is mainly known for his paintings and photocollages. He produced his first ‘joiner’ in 1970, composing the photographs into a collage using polaroids. Hockney visited Los Angeles, California for the first time in 1964 and stayed for 6 months. He eventually moved there permanently 14 years later in 1978. In 1986, Hockney traveled to the outskirts of Los Angeles and he was so fascinated with his road trip through the Antelope Valley, that he decided to take photographs of Pearblossom Hwy after taking a commission from Vanity Fair. Though it wasn’t just any old single photograph, he took over 800 separate photographs that were developed at an ordinary processing facility in nearby Palmdale, depicting the desert highway. Pearblossom Highway #2 took about 8 days to complete, however in preparation for this he made a quarter-scale study choosing which elements in the scene should be large and which should be small, borrowing ideas from Cubist painting.

When first looking at the final piece, it takes a moment for everything to be fully seen. There is “not one single viewpoint, but hundreds.” (Gayford, 2019). Every little detail can be seen, from the scattered litter in the foreground to the rocky mountains in the background. “The eye constantly bounces around, focusing on small details; although the image is still, it gives off the impression of motion.” (de Voogd, 2020). Hockney has specifically pieced the photographs together to emphasise motion which isn’t noticed straight away. Hockney has manipulated the viewpoint to make it real, he has cleverly thought about the perspective from inside a car without the car in the image. He has included both the drivers and the passenger’s perspective. The driver on the right-hand side pays attention to the road and the signs; the writing on the floor and stop signs. The passenger, on the other hand, has more time to enjoy the scenery such as the Joshua trees and littered sidewalk. The image as a whole draws you in and leads you to believe that you can continue further down the road but the signs remind you to stop and take in your surroundings, playfully suggesting the irony between the deep-space perspective and the picture’s flat surface.

Pearblossom Hwy is one of his largest photo-based works and the technique behind it “has reappeared throughout David Hockney’s career in different forms” (Zara, 2018). His works were influenced by cubism; turning abstract pieces into a complete picture. In 1982, Hockney created a photographic collage of his mother sat on a gravestone at Bolton Abbey. In this piece, photography was an important factor, however, if all the photographs continued to the edge of the frame, then it would be less apparent that photography was used because the joins aren’t as noticeable. “Each edge makes you subconsciously mindful of what’s not in the picture” (New York Times, 2001) Every photograph that Hockney took was taken at different times in the day and different seasons, which makes you think what goes in the background, or what’s not in the photograph.

This long, bumpy road in Hockney’s piece is known as Pearblossom Hwy. It could connote that this is the road to success and the many different challenges that you will come across. The stop signs could indicate the obstacles you face and the people you meet that will make you want to quit. The “138” sign with arrows pointing either way, could imply the hard decisions you will have to make. But that is just my theory, Hockney made this piece because it was commissioned by Vanity Fair to illustrate a story about Humbert Humbert, looking for Lolita -driving around the Southwest but it never appeared in the magazine. He refused to sell it at first, however, he eventually changed his mind when he was introduced to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. 

Hockney himself describes it as a “drawing with a camera” (Hockney, YouTube, 2012) When looking at the whole piece together, it looks like one photograph taken from a central perspective, but once you’ve fully taken it in you can notice all the joins of the photos and Hockney says that not a single photo was taken from the centre. Although the medium used is photography, he refers to it as a drawing rather than a photographic piece but his photographer friend said it was a painting. In a sense, you could agree that it is a drawing or a painting because you have to create the structure before anything. So essentially you would join the lines of the road first to know where everything else is positioned, then piece everything together like a puzzle. Hockney mentions that one did paint the sky as the sky was made up of around 200 photographs so he chose the different shades of blue and placed them as if he was shading with a paintbrush rather than having random patches of blue. He said, “I was aware cameras push you away, I was trying to pull you in.” He did exactly that, starting with the stop sign and getting close up shots of everything, he created a sense of realism with the final piece. 

Photography has been an integral part of David Hockney’s career, using it to capture the artwork and manipulate it in his own unique way. He created many photographic pieces that involve using a camera and often took a large amount to position together as seen in Pearblossom Hwy. In his earlier works, the photography element was apparent when looking at a piece because the joins of the photographs were clearly visible. However, it seems Hockney wanted to make it very clear that he has used photography to create art, engaging his audience and allowing them to feel as if they were involved in the scene. Overall, this piece refers to the theme of time through the manipulation of still images edited together to create a sense of motion.

Word Count: 1077

Bibliography

De Voogd, A. (Feb 4, 2020) The Versatile World of David Hockney. At: Gallerease [online] https://gallerease.com/en/magazine/articles/the-versatile-world-of-david-hockney__d65bfbc5ac48 [accessed 04/03/20]

Gayford, M. (Jun 25, 2019) Hockney’s World of Pictures. At: Tate [online] https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-etc/issue-39-spring-2017/hockneys-world-pictures [accessed 05/03/20]

Hockney, D. (1986) Pearblossom Highway. At: David Hockney [online] www.david-hockney.org/pearblossom-highway/ [accessed 04/03/20]

Weinruab, B. (Aug 15, 2001) Enticed by Bright Light; From David Hockney, a Show of Photocollages At: Los Angeles, The New York Times [online] https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/15/arts/enticed-bright-light-david-hockney-show-photocollages-los-angeles.html [accessed 05/04/20]

Zara, J. (Sep 12, 2018) Inside the Private World of David Hockney. At: Architectural Digest [online] https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/david-hockney-studio-visit [accessed 05/03/20]

At: The David Hockney Foundation [online] https://thedavidhockneyfoundation.org/chronology/1986 [accessed 05/03/20]

David Hockney’s “Pearblossom Hwy” Video. At: Khan Academy [online] https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/getty-museum/getty-photographs-films/getty-photographs-photographers/v/david-hockney-pearblossom-hwy [accessed 06/03/20]