Shadows sometimes people don’t see shadows. The Chinese of course never paint them in pictures, oriental art never deals with shadow. But I noticed these shadows and I knew it meant it was sunny.
Meaning of the quote
In this quote, the artist David Hockney is talking about how people often overlook shadows, even though they can tell a lot about the environment. He says that in Chinese and other Eastern art, shadows are not usually included, but he has noticed them and realized that they indicate it is a sunny day. Hockney is pointing out that shadows are an important part of the world around us, even if we don't always pay attention to them.
About David Hockney
David Hockney is an iconic British artist known for his contributions to the pop art movement of the 1960s. He has owned residences in both the UK and California, and in 2018 set a record for the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction with his work ‘Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’.
More quotes from David Hockney
Always live in the ugliest house on the street – then you don’t have to look at it.
English painter and printmaker
Yes, I did, I mean I painted er, in a kind of abstract expressionist way, because of course that was exciting.
English painter and printmaker
Shadows sometimes people don’t see shadows. The Chinese of course never paint them in pictures, oriental art never deals with shadow. But I noticed these shadows and I knew it meant it was sunny.
English painter and printmaker
We grow small trying to be great.
English painter and printmaker
I made a photograph of a garden in Kyoto, the Zen garden, which is a rectangle. But a photograph taken from any one point will not show, well it shows a rectangle, but not with ninety degree angles.
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A belief is like a guillotine, just as heavy, just as light.
English painter and printmaker
I think Picasso was, without doubt, the greatest portraitist of the 20th century, if not any other century.
English painter and printmaker
But slowly I began to use cameras and then think about what it was that was going on. It took me a long time, I mean I actually played with cameras and photography for about 20 years.
English painter and printmaker
We live in an age where the artist is forgotten. He is a researcher. I see myself that way.
English painter and printmaker
The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.
English painter and printmaker
Most artists work all the time, they do actually, especially good artists, they work all the time, what else is there to do? I mean you do.
English painter and printmaker
What I didn’t know was I was deeply attracted to the big space.
English painter and printmaker
It is very good advice to believe only what an artist does, rather than what he says about his work.
English painter and printmaker
The moment you cheat for the sake of beauty, you know you’re an artist.
English painter and printmaker
Smoking calms me down. It’s enjoyable. I don’t want politicians deciding what is exciting in my life.
English painter and printmaker
Television is becoming a collage – there are so many channels that you move through them making a collage yourself. In that sense, everyone sees something a bit different.
English painter and printmaker
Art has to move you and design does not, unless it’s a good design for a bus.
English painter and printmaker
Well you can’t teach the poetry, but you can teach the craft.
English painter and printmaker
You had to be aware that I saw that photography was a mere episode in the history of the optical projection and when the chemicals ended, meaning the picture was fixed by chemicals, we were in a new era.
English painter and printmaker
I’m a bit claustrophobic, I know that now.
English painter and printmaker
But, I would always be thinking of how pictures are constructed and colour, how to use it, I mean you’re using it for constructing, makes you think about it, the place did as well.
English painter and printmaker
And then I went round the corner and there’s a Van Gogh portrait, and you just think, well, this is another level. A higher level, actually. I love the Sargent, but it’s not the level of Van Gogh.
English painter and printmaker
But the moment you use an ordinary camera, you are not seeing the picture, remember, meaning, you had to remember what you’ve taken. Now you could see it of course, with a digital thing, but remember in 1982 you couldn’t.
English painter and printmaker
There are enough no smoking places now.
English painter and printmaker
Well, in Bradford I could say I was brought up in Bradford and Hollywood.
English painter and printmaker
Anything simple always interests me.
English painter and printmaker