Initial Observations: The painting is square – for some reason I had a preconceived notion that is was a landscape rectangle. There are two distinct shades of blue, but there is a wide array of hues located in the splash itself, and in the shadows as well. The placement of the chair really pushes depth – I think that if it wasn’t there, the composition surrounding the building would be very empty and could feel awkward. I really like the minimalistic vibe this work gives, even though the focal point is a chaotic “splash”.
30-min Check In: After about ten minutes, my gaze was directly focused on the upper left-hand corner. There seems to be a sense of mystery given off by the empty chair, and tinted windows. Also, the odd number of window panes crops the house in a perfect way because there is an equal amount of stucco as there are windows. Twenty minutes in, I found myself avoiding the focal point and feeling somewhat isolated like the palm trees tucked away in the far background of the painting. I really like how Hockney painted the palm trees tall and slender with little tufts off leaves to a lot give off a surrealist view into his world – I asked, ‘why’?
1 Hour Check In: For the remainder of my time looking at this work, I tried my hardest to be engulfed in the blue – I wanted it to pull something out of me. As I stared at the giant white glob in the center, and my eye traveled to the other white facets that Hockney included in the immersive “splash”. It’s funny, because my entire time sitting, I kept replying the same scene of a young man jumping into the pool and hearing the splash itself. The visual painting is somehow connected to an auditory sensation, that in turn made me feel extremely nostalgic and allowed me to reminisce not only on my past, but on the scene, itself.
Reflection: At first, I was really excited for this assignment, and then I actually got to the museum. Sitting for an hour, staring at this Hockney was honestly incredibly difficult for me, not only because I have a hard time just sitting and staring at something, but because of the vast amount of people that were viewing the exhibition as well. That being said, I am more than happy that I actually did it, and this assignment has inspired me to take a lot more time looking at art – especially art you don’t understand of would just rather walk by. I believe that finding new things, or feeling certain emotions when looking at a painting is a feeling like no other, and really am excited to take this skill with me for the rest of my life.
