Following up on the recent post on the effect of the smoking ban (among other things) on Britain's pubs, I happened across an article that was sent to me about a month ago by Steve Wainstead. Steve was a photo major, and turned me on to Hockney's photo collages, which was eye-opening for me. In turn, I began to shoot photo collages for myself.
Hockney is quite outspoken about the smoking ban, and all things "bossy". From an article in The Independent:
Some of the world's finest artists were lifelong smokers, he will happily point out, including Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Turner. Hockney does not smoke while he is painting because he needs his hands free, but when he steps back to take stock of his work, he lights up. And when the Government announced its proposed smoking ban in pubs and clubs, Hockney turned up at Labour's annual conference to lead a protest funded by the tobacco companies. "Death awaits you whether you smoke or not," he proclaimed. "Pubs are not health clubs. People go to drown their sorrows. We could save a lot more lives if we refuse to serve alcohol, you could argue. This is ridiculous. It's bossy."
Bossiness is one of Hockney's pet dislikes. He has a slogan: End Bossiness Soon – "soon" because he thinks "now" would sound bossy. "People should start standing up for themselves," he says. "Where has the awkward squad gone?"
I was pleasantly surprised to learn of the range of Hockney's libertarian beliefs. It's not what I expect from an artiste. But, it appears that Hockney finds the "for your own good" laws to be conformity, something many artistes once rebelled against.
let's hear it for Hockney!
