David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)

  

David Hockney - BIGGER And CLOSER - a massive, technically ground-breaking, immersive art exhibition at the newly opened LIGHTROOM Artspace  located in London's recently revitalized King's Cross Arts-District

 

        

My friend, the artist David Hockney invited me to London to see and photograph the final rehearsals of his newest, technically complex and simply breathtaking, exhibition, "Bigger And Closer."   Certainly a most fortunate and profound honored for me. Here are a few of my pictures of this incredible, and hands down, completely unique from all others, immersive art presentation from David Hockney.  

 

 "Bigger And Closer" includes motion, films, photographs, animation and the most exceptional asset, his own personal narration. Hockney's ongoing narration creates an atmosphere that makes this huge exhibition feel far more like an intimate studio visit with an old friend.  As David guides us through his lifetime of work, he explains the ideas which continue to inspire his art for over 60 years.  Now 85, David is up early each morning, working away, with paintings, drawings, photography and now the newer art creating digital technologies.

All the floors and walls, every possible surface is full of art, an equally exciting event for children as well

In his Los Angeles studio, 1970s 

Growing up in the rural country side of Yorkshire, David is deeply moved by nature and landscape; currently much of his time is spent living and making art at his farm in Normandie, France.

 

Hockney Paints the Stage - Early opera inspired works from the 1960s & 70s

DH adding just a few final touches as the hours tick down before the big reveal. "What is he up to now?" Something not to be missed. 

Feb. 22 Through Oct. 1

LIGHTROOM

12 Lewis Cubitt Square
London, N1C 4DY

 

 

Photographing ROW DTLA: The Southern Pacific Architectural Landmark

 DesignLA the Los Angeles Times new Sunday magazine, created by Michael Wollaeger, former  managing editor of Architectural Digest.  Michael possesses a great knowledge of architecture, interior design, the art community,  and our shared endless curiosity about things LA. 

Built in the era of the streetcars - now across the street from where the buses sleep

Graffiti mural by my friends, RETNA and figurative artist Ricardo Estrada

Looking up towards downtown Los Angeles from Alameda, across Central Ave, from the old railroad produce yards

Massive buildings, millions of square feet - impossible to imagine until you are standing there

Young and happening, great energy - dogs to work.

Previously home to American Apparel

New shops, furniture, fashion and design. New media - game design, video companies

LA Neighborhoods - Street legends

Left: " Los- Mulholland Radio Tower " Joe Prime Reza/Jim McHugh 24" x 20" signed and numbered- edition of 150 unframed.  Right:  "213- Washington and Crenshaw" David Cavazo Big Sleeps / Jim McHugh 24" x 20" signed and numbered- edition of 150 - Each print $150 + shipping

As shown above, Courtyard Editions is issuing two high quality, archival photographic prints, priced with the desire to make art works from the "LA Neighborhoods" project available to everyone. So many so people have asked about acquiring prints from the work that we have been doing together over the past few years. These are two very beautiful images that represent our unique look at LA.

A single section of the panorama used as the supporting layer of the collage for "213 - Washington Blvd."  Polaroid T55

A 9 ft. canvas of Washington Blvd. - hand styles by Sleeps and Prime - INNOVA Digital

Artists Joe "Prime" Reza and David Cavazo, aka "Big Sleeps," are such legends, born of this disappearing LA era. These prints are a true fusion of photographic imagery and territorial street hand-styles. The imagery investigates LA and the secret, hidden sub-culture of graffiti writing, hand styles. "213 Washington Blvd. and Crenshaw " reflects a neighborhood abandoned to immigrants and people of color in post WWII Los Angeles that is now rapidly gentrifying. For those unaware, 213 was the original and for a long time, only area code in LA.  

 

Prime at work in his downtown LA studio- ©2015 Jim McHugh

An early legend among street writers, now Joe "Prime" Reza is a painter who's works are held in the permanent collection of the Getty Museum and are exhibited in galleries world wide, Prime's newest works can be seen through Jan. 17, 2017 at the LA Louver Gallery, Venice, CA. in the exhibition "ROLLCALL" curated by Gajin Fujita.

 

Shooting in Prime's studio for the exhibition AFTERMATH - 2016 - photo: Patrick House

Big Sleeps signing "Washington and Crenshaw"

  Big Sleeps  is truly a survivor of the streets that nearly swallowed him whole, streets that remain bound by intricate, spray-painted letter styles which act as a true code of survival called "the placa."  Cavazo's paintings can also be viewed thru January 17 at LA Louver Gallery, Venice, CA. in their "Rollcall" exhibition.

Studio van near Central Ave. in South Central LA on the very rainy night when we signed our prints

Big Sleeps - Prime - Jim McHugh at Prime's studio, Dec. 14, 2016

 Purchase "213- Washington Blvd"  

 Purchase "LOS - Mulholland Drive- Radio Tower"

 The McHugh Studio  323 466 2890 - jim@jimmchugh.com

The LA Neighborhoods project has been developed with the support of INNOVA Digital Art, supplying the newest archival technologies and digital surfaces for maximum image integrity. 

Union Station 75th Anniversary

Including "High Hopes" - Six Images by Jim McHugh

"Union Station" – 30" x 60" Duratrans, 1 of 6 from the series "High Hopes"   © 2005 Jim McHugh

Opening ceremony – Union Station 75th Anniversary Celebration 

May 3rd marked the opening ceremony commemorating Union Station's 75th Anniversary. The celebration featured various musical and other performances throughout the day in the Old Ticket Concourse, South Patio, East Portal and Fred Harvey space. Vintage sounds from the years the station opened—swing, blues, roots—mingled with more contemporary and cultural beats—Afro-Mexican Son Jarocho, Salsa, funk, Japanese taiko, New Orleans style brass, Chinese lion dancers and more. 

Metro Art Docents, posted at various locations throughout the station, answered questions about the architecture and art in the station—including the new photo light boxes in the Union Station Passageway!   

The Heart of Los Angeles

In celebration of Union Station’s 75th Anniversary, a new art space has been added to its historic passenger tunnel. The last great railway station built in America, this passageway has appeared in countless films, from the gritty 1950 noir classic “Union Station” with William Holden to “Blade Runner” and its futuristic portrayal of Los Angeles.

“The Heart of Los Angeles” series introduces artworks created by five artists: Suzanne Adelman, Sam Comen, Kevin McCollister, Jim McHugh and Catherine Opie (six by each artist). The photographs relate to the station’s architectural heritage, transit usage, cultural significance, and its physical and social relationship to neighboring communities.

Jim McHugh is inspired by the disappearing architectural landmarks of his childhood in Los Angeles. He makes portraits of the city’s other “celebrities”— the buildings around us, some forgotten and silent. Far more than simple documents of architecture, these photographs serve as powerful portraits, preserving impressions of character and personality from another time.

Historic passengerway at celebrated Los Angeles Union Station. Six Duratrans panels titled "High Hopes" by Jim McHugh. (photo Matt Levitch)

Celebrated photographer Douglas Kirkland, known for his timeless photographs of Marilyn Monroe, points his lens on a perhaps-less-glamorous subject, Jim McHugh, with lighting assistance from Tim Yarger of Timothy Yarger Fine Arts. Union Station opening celebration, May 3, 2014

"Far more than simple documents of architecture, these photographs serve as powerful portraits, preserving impressions of character and personality from another time."

– Heidi Zeller, MTA Creative Services

Color-proofing small Duratrans proofs for Union Station installation with master printer Joe Hill of Prolab Digital and Heidi Zeller of MTA Creative Services. (photo Matt Levitch)