modern art or ancient art?

A fabulous blipmeet at Tate Britain to see the David Hockney exhibition.  Thanks to Hildasrose for organising (as usual).

I found his ‘four seasons’ project quite emotional - four composite video screens showing the landscape around his home in Yorkshire through the seasons.

I am one of those people, who, if asked about Art would probably say “I don’t know much about it, but I know what I like.”  There are just a few artists that I really like and I’ve been wondering why I like them - what is it about these particular artists that appeals?  

The conclusion I’ve come to is that I see them from a ‘photographic’ perspective, rather than an understanding of Art itself.

For example;

El Greco; use of colour - reminds me of the ‘dynamic tone’ setting on my Fiji compact.

Rembrandt; lighting (especially portraits). 

Vermeer; composition and perspective.  (There is evidence to suggest he used an optical device of some sort to aid perspective.)

Van Gogh; use of colour - saturation slider set to 11.

Magritte; surely the inventor/pre-cursor of photoshop?

Hockney; large format and a willingness to embrace new technology to create images.

The main image is an example of ancient art - a large boulder placed at the North end of the Vauxhall Bridge, near Tate Britain - made by processes deep within the Earth over millions of years.  But cropping makes it what many would consider an abstract image.

The extras show Vauxhall Bridge and three blippers waiting to shoot an empty staircase in the Tate.

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