David Hockney | iPad Artist?

Driving to work this morning, listening to my usual NPR station, I heard a short bit on Hockney’s newest exhibition in Paris: An iPad and iPhone only exhibit, where all the art is emailed in by the artist. The work is created on and viewed on the digital devices; no canvas, no paint, no physical materials. So, is this art?

It is interesting to reflect on how artwork – and how we experience artwork – is changing. My first experience of Hockney’s work was on a coffee mug. Every winter my family goes to a small cabin in the Sierra Nevada Mountains where we each have our own coffee mug; mine was always the Hockney coffee mug. This is probably an unorthodox introduction to Hockney’s work, but I enjoyed it, and it stuck with me. I view this iPad and iPhone exhibition as a similar unorthodox medium, but the artistic intent and creative uniqueness remains.

The fact that such an established and prolific artist can embrace new technological mediums is amazing to me. Doing away with the canvas, paint, and brushes is a bold move, and perhaps a new frontier in the artistic world. I mean, if Hockney is doing it, then it must be art… right?

Check out the video of Hockney's newest digital creations here.