The South Bank Show - Specials (1983)

During the early 1980s, David Hockney focused on a new technique for creating photographic collages, which he termed 'joiners'. These works involve assembling scores of photos of the same subject taken from different angles in a single session. Hockney's aim was to inject a visible element of time into photographic images, which normally represent only 'frozen moments'. To illustrate his approach, a special project was devised for this film, and Hockney is shown at his Los Angeles studio creating the 'joiner' later titled Fredda bringing Ann and me a Cup of Tea. Through his exploration of this new method, Hockney illuminates his underlying attitudes to the nature of visual representation. This film adds a further dimension by looking at the influence of photographs on Hockney's paintings and graphic works throughout his career. Hockney places his own experiments in a wide perspective, highlighting the interaction between an artist's creativity and chosen medium.