A Picture of Ourselves 1976 - 1977

Curator: David Hockney created this etching with aquatint titled "A Picture of Ourselves" between 1976 and 1977. It's a mixed-media print featuring both figuration and nude themes. My initial impression is a dreamlike juxtaposition of forms. What are your thoughts on it? Editor: It certainly has that surreal quality, doesn't it? My eyes are drawn to the peculiar symbolism; it feels like glimpsing into someone's subconscious. What do you make of the positioning of that strange sculpture and the green… creature, I suppose? Curator: The composition creates a fascinating dialogue between interiority and exteriority. The stylized figure contrasts sharply with the almost cartoonish image behind what seems to be glass. One wonders about the personal or political currents that might be fueling Hockney's vision in this period. After all, the 70s were turbulent. Editor: Definitely turbulent times, but also times of great personal liberation. This piece is charged with personal symbols. The figure is vulnerable yet poised, almost ritualistic. Is Hockney perhaps inviting us to contemplate identity as a series of constructed images, a performance? I can't shake the feeling this is meant to tap into some Jungian archetype. Curator: Hockney’s work often blurs boundaries between reality and representation, engaging viewers in self-reflection, something of an inquiry into how societal norms shape our very identities. He had such a unique role in challenging those boundaries. Editor: True, and I’d say that's a reflection of his time and his involvement in reshaping queer representation and norms. Those simple color choices of a pastel like pink in contrast to that almost alien-like green could certainly tell a narrative on identity and how that plays on the stage of his experience. I’m wondering where this fits in to queer modernism and its influences? Curator: His approach to portraiture often reflects the influence of modernism’s fragmentation, offering not a singular view, but multiple perspectives, influenced of course by socio-political considerations. These reflections ask us, do these figures truly reveal themselves, or do they embody masks curated to manage social anxieties? Editor: A profound question, truly. "A Picture of Ourselves" certainly presents an image of both unveiling and concealing simultaneously. Curator: Ultimately, this work invites us to interrogate our own role in constructing narratives of self, amidst the backdrop of prevailing societal expectations. Editor: An unforgettable image of complex emotions woven with intriguing visual motifs that endure beyond any fixed interpretation, which reflects back onto the viewer long after the gaze has passed.