Hockney-inspired photocollage.

How can you bring photography to your class when you don't have a darkroom? A few years ago, I was introducing my students to David Hockney's Pearblossom Highway photo collage when I decided to try his technique myself. It turned into an assignment that my students love and request.

Hockney states that Pearblossom Highway gives "a sense of closeness to everything yet at the same time depth can be achieved." In his photo collages, Hockney moves around a space in order to show an object in movement or as we see it when we move or interact with it. Playing with our sense of depth and photographing objects as we move forces us to look at space and our subject in a different way, shifting our focus from re-creating what we see into the realm of fantasy and distortion.

After teaching this lesson for several years, I've come up with a series of steps and hints for students. However, I strongly suggest that the teacher create an example because the most difficult part is getting started once the photographs are in hand.

Objectives

* Create an artwork effectively using multiple photos of one or two different subjects.

* Utilize and critique your knowledge of color, perspective, space, line, emphasis, repetition, and distortion to create a new space with multiple photographs.

Getting Started

Students look at teacher examples and photo collages by Hockney and ask where the photographer was standing. Did the photographer change positions? How do you think the photographer changed the original scene or model? Students decide what subject they would like to distort or exaggerate through movement, and how they can make the subject interesting to the viewer.

Photography

Use a disposable camera or a SLR camera using ASA 400 film. If you choose to take black-and-white images, have the photos developed using the color process for timely return. Try to take between twenty-seven and thirty-six exposures. Digital cameras can also be used, but if you do, have all your images printed. Take your photos outside or with as much artificial light as possible. If you are taking photos indoors, open all the shades, turn on all the lights, and open all the doors.

After you choose a subject, take a series of photos while moving the camera around to get the entire subject. I suggest starting at your feet and slowly moving the camera up to the sky, taking photos as you go. Then, take photos from the sky to the ground, both to the left and right of center.

When you have a photo of the entire scene, move in on the parts of the subject you want to emphasize, but not too much. A step forward or back is usually enough to create emphasis but moving too far away means the subject won't fit in the composition. If you choose to take photos in two different areas to combine them, think about how large your subject is in the viewfinder of the camera. If they are of similar size in the viewfinder, they will be easier to collage together.

Creating a Collage

Once you have your photos printed, you will put them together like a puzzle. I like to start with two or three images rather than looking at all my photographs at once. You may find that the center of focus has changed because your photos are different from your original idea. If so, just work with what you have. Resist the temptation to retake more photos. Don't be afraid to cut the photos and use parts of them in different areas.

For construction, use masking tape on the back as you put together images. This way you can easily change the arrangement. When you have determined a final composition, tape the backs of the photos securely together, and then use rubber cement or a glue stick to attach it to a mat.

Assessment

I ask students to walk around a gallery of each other's works and to answer the following questions before we discuss the works in a class critique:

* Of the different collages, which ones best distort or exaggerate the main subject?

* Which ones best use color to lead your eye through the composition?

* Which ones best emphasize perspective, giving an exaggerated sense of distance?

* If you have a preference for one person's work, which work do you admire and why? Could it be because you relate to the subject or the overall composition?

* In your own collage, what do you think you did well?

* If you could change one thing on your collage, what would it be?

Reference

Hockney, David. Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters New York: Viking Studio, 2001

Gina Wenger is on the Art Education faculty at Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota. gina.wenger@mnsu. edu

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students conceive and create works of visual art that demonstrate an understanding of how the communication of their ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes they use.

WEB LINK

www.davidhockney.com