Whoever says iPad art says David Hockney. He became famous for it.
And fame = money. For example, I discovered that two of his iPad artworks were sold by Christie's New York this spring, for $120,000 and $88,000 respectively. That is roughly 113,000 and 94,000 euros.
Phew. So expensive. And to think: they are not unique works; 25 prints were made of both works.
Meanwhile, my iPad artworks are unique! I have monoprints printed. One-time printing. Exclusive. On-demand. The prices are between €275 and €399. That sounds better, right? See if you like them. (There's more coming soon.)
When I started making iPad art last year, it had nothing to do with David Hockney. I had seen his work, but I'm not a big fan. I find his color palette rather stark and garish. And to be honest, I find his interpretation of the landscape a bit contrived. But I find his portraits interesting. For example, I love the portrait of his parents (My Parents, 1977). It belongs to the Tate collection in London.
Anyway, I didn't delve into Hockney's work. Maybe that's a good thing, because as a simple unknown artist you shouldn't look up too much to 'the greats of the earth'. That will only block you.
Since I don't feel that much about David Hockney's work, I thought it would be fun to talk about it with someone who doesn't feel much about art anyway: the chatbot from chat.openai.com. I discovered its existence thanks to an interesting article by tech journalist Joost Schellevis on NOS.nl (Dutch broadcasting company).
What can you expect from a conversation with a chatbot? Dry facts? No, it was actually fun. It even went a little off the rails:
Anet: Good morning, what do you know about David Hockney?
ChatGTP: Good morning! David Hockney is a well-known British painter, draftsman, photographer and sculptor. Born in 1937, he is one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Hockney is best known for his paintings of landscapes and portraits, but he has also created many other types of art, including drawings, lithographs, photography, film and video art. He is also known for his use of bright colors and his unconventional perspectives. Hockney has won many prestigious awards and has been exhibited in museums around the world.
Anet: I think Hockney is best known for the artwork he made with his iPad. Can you tell me more about that?
ChatGTP: Yes, that's right. Indeed, David Hockney has become known for his work that he creates using an iPad and other digital technology. Hockney started creating artwork on his iPad in 2009 and has since created many hundreds of works using this technology. Hockney's digital artworks are often colourful, abstract landscapes or still lifes and are characterized by his use of bright colors and his unconventional perspectives.
Hockney has also used other digital technologies, such as photography and video art, to create his work. For example, he has created a number of video artworks known as "joiners", where he puts together several small videos to form a larger image.
While Hockney has become known for his digital artwork, he is also known for his traditional painting and drawing. For example, he has made many portraits and is also known for his landscape paintings. Hockney's work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world and he is one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.
Anet: By the way, who else belongs to the group of most influential artists of the twentieth century?
- This was a deliberately placed booby trap. Because I thought: now he's only going to mention men. And yes, he fell for it. He? Yes, he. He came up with 8 names of famous artists. Including 1 woman. Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, and so on. And Kahlo as the only woman. Well. So I asked him this:
Anet: Thank you. I notice that you only mention a woman in number 7. While there are many world famous female artists. Can you name a few that left their mark on the twentieth century?
ChatGTP: Yes, that's right. Unfortunately, while there have been many influential female artists in the twentieth century, female artists are generally less visible and valued than male artists. The following is a list of some well-known women artists of the twentieth century:
1. Frida Kahlo: A Mexican artist known for her emotional, introspective paintings and her role in feminism.
2. Georgia O'Keeffe: An American artist known for her abstract landscapes and floral paintings.
3. Yoko Ono: A Japanese artist who is known for her conceptual works and her role in the Fluxus movement.
4. Louise Bourgeois: A French-American artist known for her abstract sculptures and her role in the feminist art movement.
5. Agnes Martin: A Canadian-American artist known for her abstract paintings and her role in the minimalist art movement.
6. Cindy Sherman: An American artist known for her conceptual photography and her role in the development of the 1980s art movement.
7. Tracey Emin: A British artist known for her conceptual works and her role in the Young British Artists movement.
This is just a small selection of the many influential women artists of the twentieth century. There are countless other female artists who have made a great impact on the art world and it is important to recognize and appreciate their work and contributions.
Anet: How come you first give a list of mostly male artists and only after I explicitly ask for it, a list of female artists?
ChatGTP: I don't favor artists based on gender or other characteristics. My first list of artists was intended to provide a general overview of some of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, without focusing specifically on the gender of the artists. When you asked for names of female artists, I provided a list of some well-known female artists of the twentieth century to fulfill your request. It was not my intention to provide a balanced list of artists of both genders, and I apologize if my initial list gave the impression that I favor male artists over female artists. It is important to recognize and appreciate that there have been and still are many talented female artists, and I am happy to be able to provide you with a list of some of these artists.
Anet: Hey, how nice! What a rapid development! You suddenly have feelings! Last week you didn’t have them. You write that you are happy!
- So here I actually wanted to say: “Bias! Prejudices! You have been brought up with age-old nonsense. Namely: men are influential and women are not, with a few exceptions. If even a chatbot starts repeating that myth, we'll never get anywhere. Besides, what's the point of apologizing? As a learning system you have been brought up incorrectly. So you have to fix that by learning something from this.” But I didn't write that. Apparently I found that unexpected "emotion" so funny that I couldn't resist going into it.
In the meantime, we had strayed pleasantly from the original subject. It seemed like a real conversation.
Happy holidays and a happy and healthy 2023.
