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Matinee: 'David Hockney: Another View of the World'
4 July 2026
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 663rd in our series of Saturday matinees today: David Hockney: Another View of the World.
Last month, we lost David Hockney, renowned for his imaginative depictions of the world. His later works included digital collages and photographic drawings, reflecting a mix of modern technology and traditional artistry. It is, consequently, worth listening to him talk about making images.
In this 17:27 video from the Louisiana Channel, he speaks about the nature of perception, the historical role of photography and why we need to depict the world we see.
In the very first few seconds of this chat, he takes you from making an attempt to draw to creating a style much as your handwriting is a style.
"It will be another view of the world," he says, "from another person."
The intrinsic value of each person's perspective is what underlies this discussion. It's not about technical mastery or access to the latest technology. It's not about skilled draughtsmanship or having a good eye.
It's about depiction.
"Everything on a flat surface," he argues, "is an abstraction. But we need depictions." From there he launches into the effect of the invention of photography on painting. But he argues photography "isn't enough" to depict the world.
It's not a question of quantity but of having room to represent different views of the world. How is it, he asks, that Chinese or Japanese art didn't depict shadows or perspective or even reflections?
Those things are all essential to photography, he points out. They are due to "the lens." With a lens, you get a vanishing point; you can't avoid capturing shadows; when there are reflections, they appear in your image.
There's much more here. How Caravaggio invented Hollywood lighting, for example. Or how we once believed depicting nudity was pornographic but now text naked selfies of ourselves. Well, some of us.
But we won't hold you up any longer. Enjoy an artist who doesn't expect to be remembered talk about why humans have to create art.
Hockney was interviewed at his home in France by Marc-Christoph Wagner in March 2019 for this video. But it remains aa fresh as they day it was made.