By Angela Romeo
Art is dynamic and thrives on growth. An artist is always searching and seeking to stretch the boundaries of their imagination. So when Terry Hastings decided it was time to see where photography could take him, he chose his mentor well.
Beyond Hockney – The Multiphoto Work of Terry Hastings opens Saturday 12 November at Collding Worlds Fine Art Gallery. The exhibition features dramatic new work from Terry.
“Back in the 1800’s the camera was invented and almost instantly freed the artist from painting reality,” noted Terry. “It was this freedom that allowed the birth of Impressionism, Futurism and Cubism among many other Isms.”
“British photographer David Hockney took the camera to a different level. In the 1970’s and 80’s turned the tables and started using the camera in non-conformist ways that stood on the shoulders of Cubism to present a single subject from a variety of viewpoints,” continued Terry.
Using first Polaroid prints in the1970’s, and later 35 mm prints in 1980’s, Hockney created photo collages, which he called “joiners.” Hockney arranged the images to make a composite image. While Cubism challenged the single perspective view, Hockney’s joiners were doing the same with photography. He saw the image from different perspectives.
“It was a way for Hockney to explore the way human vision works. He was creating a narrative. Although he eventually grew frustrated with the process and eventually returned to painting. Hockney’s joiners were ground breaking. I am hoping to take joiners into 21st century,” said Terry.
“This past year I started down the Hockney road. I began shooting, printing, cutting and pasting photos to create new images. I had hundreds of images, paper images, spread all over. The work was tedious, interesting and difficult. I found myself dissatisfied with the ‘craftsy’ quality of the final product. Unlike Hockney in 1980 I had technology. So I stepped into the Photoshop world. I am still taking the image. But I used Photoshop to take the photos and size them, arrange them and finish them as I imagined. I was not able to do this any other way.”
With these multiple images Terry is able to capture time, movement and a multitude of emotions in a single work of art. “I have also started to add in my Theatre background and have created short One Act plays in a single image,” noted Terry.
In viewing the new work in context with his earlier Element series, Terry’s eye for capturing time, movement and the nude is evident. His use of Photoshop is secondary the image captured by him. No work can succeed without the truth of the artist.
Beyond Hockney – The Mulitiphoto Work of Terry Hastings runs through November 27th at Colliding Worlds Fine Art Gallery, 68895 Perez Road, I 13, Cathedral City Ca.
For more information on Terry Hastings visit www.thehastingsgallery.com
