wearing Hockney at Diego Rivera

First, we immersed ourselves in Hockney at the de Young in SAN FRANCISCO. How we got to the museum will be a whole other post on mistaken locations, unexpected journeys, and the genius of uber. I turned my nose up at uber as recently as two weeks ago, and in five minutes, in a tight pinch I became a devotee. Easy.

I'd been wanting to get to this show since I heard it was opening in October... I've been a long time fan of his work, loved his film, A Bigger Picture, and have been particularly interested in what keeps people interested and engaged in the new, in making things, in learning well past age 70... like my dad.

David Hockney is a life-long learner.  In a A Bigger Picture see how at an age when many people might just kick back, he moved back home to Yorkshire, U.K. and took up the Brushes App along with a new series of paintings.  He has long embraced experimenting with technology, so this is nothing new.  However, it reminded me of my dad, excited to get an IPhone in his eighties because he liked the camera... IPhone lessons commenced every Sunday.  The most recent lesson was how to access a Johnny Cash station on Pandora.  He loves it.  Ha!  I get it. Being open to the new, to change, and to being okay with not totally knowing what one is doing are ways in which we can stay young.  Willing to take risks is so Reggio, an education approach that has long guided my teaching and all around living.

David Hockney iPad Drawing printed on six sheets of paper (71 3/4 x 35 3/4 in. each), mounted on six sheets of Dibond,
143 1/2 x 107 1/4 in. overall. © 2013 David Hockney

Like the six year old I toured the almost four hundred works with said, "It's almost all like fantasy because you've never seen a purple tree."  Yeah.  That's what I'm talking about.  If you're going to make art, you might as well take advantage and make stuff up, but that's just me.  This is why touring major exhibitions with six year olds is so essential.  They should be available at the entrance as private guides... wait, no that's silly!  They could just do the audio for the headset tours.  Once again, do not, I repeat do not have a kid for the exclusive reason of having them give you tours of major exhibitions.  You've got to think these things through.

J Crew girl's dress 

Who told this nine year old to wear an IPad drawing-like dress to the show?  Was there a memo?  No, just some indigo child fashion psychic powers at work here.  Might as well use those psychic powers for good, right?  

This artist is soaking MORE art in at the Diego Rivera gallery post-Hockney.  A fresco in a deserted hilltop gallery at San Francisco Art Institute is just the ticket to balance out the bright screens and colors of a crowded, blockbuster exhibition.  Yes, this is a trip for serious art lovers.  Where a Rivera is like a nice cafe de olla after a Yorkshire dinner.  

Ash 'Babe' Sneaker

We talked about how Frida used to bring Diego lunch while he worked on this mural... wearing shoes like these.  Okay, she didn't wear shoes like these, but you couldn't see her shoes because she had those awesome long skirts on.  

The artist also picked up a lovely hat at Goorin Bros. Hat Shop.  But that's a whole other post as well.  Oh, San Francisco.  So post-rich you are.  It's a traffic jam of posts!  Stay tuned for more...

The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City ("Making a Fresco") (1931) is one of four murals in the Bay Area painted by Mexican artist Diego Rivera (1886-1957).

by Laura E. Alvarez