A Bigger Grand Canyon by David Hockney is complied of sixty smaller paintings that together form a large image of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. What is immediately striking about this piece is the bold use of color that forms the ridges and details on the canyon. Hockney also makes the piece incredibly realistic, using the jagged edges, rocky steps, dry river beds, exotic plants, steep slopes, and a variety of surfaces to illustrate the Grand Canyon. In this piece you can also clearly see Hockney’s artistic background, as aspects of Cubism, Chinese scroll paintings, Pop Art, and landscapes, are all incorporated into A Bigger Grand Canyon. Created in 1999, Hockney was first motivated to paint this piece due to his fascination with the scene when he first visited the Arizona desert to photograph the canyon in 1982.
This piece has reached a major feat in the art world by accurately portraying a scene deemed un-photographable, as the most astounding aspect of the Grand Canyon is its size. To overcome the camera’s inability to capture distance, Hockney photographed this vast landmark by taking a series of photographs and then composed a collage of the Grand Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon with ledge, Arizona, 1982. It was this piece of work along with the second collage made in May 1986 that inspired and formed the piece of work that can be seen in the National Gallery of Australia today. All sixty pieces in A Bigger Grand Canyon are also designed with exact precision, each fitting in with its surrounding paintings so closely that from afar the separation between pieces can barely be noticed.
Many view this magnificent piece as a statement on the depiction of space, size, and distance. Hockney’s technique also portrays a panoramic view, which also takes the observer through the experience of being within a space as great as the Grand Canyon itself. Acclaimed artists are also astounded by Hockney’s ability to take the observer through the process of viewing the details of the scene, feeling the beating sun, adjusting to the bold colors, sensing the change in lighting and the different perspectives of distance, the texture of the earth, and traveling in this particular landscape, all in one work of art.
This piece has reached a major feat in the art world by accurately portraying a scene deemed un-photographable, as the most astounding aspect of the Grand Canyon is its size. To overcome the camera’s inability to capture distance, Hockney photographed this vast landmark by taking a series of photographs and then composed a collage of the Grand Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon with ledge, Arizona, 1982. It was this piece of work along with the second collage made in May 1986 that inspired and formed the piece of work that can be seen in the National Gallery of Australia today. All sixty pieces in A Bigger Grand Canyon are also designed with exact precision, each fitting in with its surrounding paintings so closely that from afar the separation between pieces can barely be noticed.
Many view this magnificent piece as a statement on the depiction of space, size, and distance. Hockney’s technique also portrays a panoramic view, which also takes the observer through the experience of being within a space as great as the Grand Canyon itself. Acclaimed artists are also astounded by Hockney’s ability to take the observer through the process of viewing the details of the scene, feeling the beating sun, adjusting to the bold colors, sensing the change in lighting and the different perspectives of distance, the texture of the earth, and traveling in this particular landscape, all in one work of art.
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