David Hockney's "Mulholland Drive"

(1980) which is currently housed in the Robert O. Anderson Building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Tulman, 1986, pp. 88-89). The discussion will be divided into the following four categories: materials; associations; process; and structures. The four parts of this paper will be used to explore the various aspects of the artwork as well as to explain many of the subtle characteristics of Hockney's famous acrylic painting.

The medium which David Hockney used for his painting "Mulholland Drive: The Road to the Studio" (hereinafter referred to as "Mulholland Drive") is that of acrylic on canvas (Tulman, 1986, p. 95).

However, Hockney does not use acrylic paint by itself to achieve the effect he desires in his painting. The artist also etches both straight and wavy lines into the wet acrylic medium to achieve a scratched effect, almost as if the artist had run his fingernails through a crayon drawing. Parts of the painting, like the primary red and blue short painted lines over a white background, reveal the acrylic medium in its simplest form. However, the parts where Hockney has scratched the acrylic have the effect of disguising the medium. Apparently, the artist intended to disguise the medium in parts of his gigantic painting to achieve a quasi-mixed medium effect.

Hockney also employed the visual element of the etched s

. . .
ht travel through miles of landscape, might scale the mountain peaks, might follow streams to their source or move with the waterfall in its plunge" (Tuchman, 1988, p. 52). Thus, in viewing this huge scroll-like piece, society is challenged to think about the urban environment as being intricately and permanently connected to nature, as opposed to viewing Los Angeles as an urban place removed from the mountains and streams among which it is nestled. "Mulholland Drive" reinforces the commonly held belief in Los Angeles that the "drive to the studio" is a beautiful one, but it also reminds people that the parking lots, concrete pools, and television antennae are really very close to beautiful mountains and open fields. And, to a certain degree, the painting reinforces the idea that green areas and parks should be maintained, even in the most populated urban environment. The two aspects of the painting which make viewers feel the most uncomfortable are its size and the artist's choice of colors. Many of the colors are bright, basic, and loud. The combination of very bold colors with a 86-inch by 243-inch canvas (Tulman, 1986, p. 95) is astounding. The work is so epic in nature that most viewers probably have to take a few mi
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Approximate Word count = 2194
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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