Teun Hocks is from the Netherlands, born in 1947. He started taking photographs at the age of 14. By his early 20s he started painting on them. He makes his photographic prints on toned gelatin silver-print and uses oil paints to paint on them. I think more recently he has been digitally painting his photographs. These pieces seem more digital, but are conceptually in the same vein as his previous work. His list of solo exhibitions is quite grand. Hocks has also published several books of his work.
He photographs himself for his work, which is often humorous. I found myself laughing with much of his work. He definitely makes fun of life, but you can tell he has a joy for the little things. It's something I try to express in a lot of my work as well, and they way he pulls it off, you don't necessarily notice it right away. It's not big, like Hello Kitty. It's a subtle suggestion that you may as well enjoy life if you can help it. like a reminder - "hey, enjoy tripping" and that sort of thing.
What he says about how his ideas are formed,
"Sometimes I have an idea immediately, but most of the time I have half-ideas. So I make sketches. Sometimes I’ll look in my sketchbooks and find a drawing that I’d almost forgotten about. So I change something, and then I find I’ve started to make a work. I make a choice that I want to make a drawing into a work if I find I’m intrigued myself. But I need to draw. I have to draw to think."
His work is a combination of real and surreal, but they exist together as if they're the same thing. Like someone is so excited he can fly, but the viewer doesn't learn until the end that everybody can fly. So flying is surreal.
He begins his process by sketching and creating water color drawings of the final composition. Then, he paints or builds a backdrop for his scene. He photographs himself in black and white and prints the image. He uses transparent layers of paint to color the photograph, so you can still see the photograph underneath.
Hock's process is very interesting to me. I like the surreal quality of the painted image in combination with photography. These images seem playful and lighthearted.
ReplyDeleteThe photo with the man looking at the desk lamp is really interesting to me. What I found MOST interesting is how unreal the light coming from the lamp looks (do you suppose he did that himself?) and also how there's a glow from a light source on the top of his head. It doesn't really look like it belongs, but it's a really weirdo/cool effect.
ReplyDeleteThese are amazing! His process is incredibly involved and he likes to make sure that his final output is in mind throughout the entire journey. His attention to detail and planning are something to be admired!
ReplyDeletethe use of painting/drawing on top of a photograph ties these together. some of your recent work incorporates the idea of painting (or collaging textures) onto photographs. have you tried going from digital to analog and then back again? that might continue to add the "hand-done" quality that you have been working with...
ReplyDeleteI think he is hilarious!! I absolutely love it. Humor in photography is completely necessary. I also find it interesting that both of the people you picked combine drawing/painting/digital painting with photography which I know is something you like to do as well.
ReplyDeleteI want to be this guy when I grow up.