A Bigger Message

DH: I suppose essentially I am saying we are not sure what the world looks like. An awful lot of people think we do, but I don’t.

MG: So you believe it’s a mystery that can still be explored and, what’s more, that it always will be?

DH: Yes, it will. A two-dimensional surface can easily be copied in two dimensions. It’s three dimensions that are hard to get onto two. That involves making a lot of decisions. You have to stylise it or something, interpret it. You’ve got to accept the flat surface. Not try and pretend it’s not there. Doesn’t that mean that we learn how to get used to pictures and interpret them? And isn’t that one reason why we are fascinated by pictures? I certainly am. I’ve always believed that pictures ,are us see the world. Without them, I’m not sure what anybody would see. A lot of people think they know what the world looks like because they’ve seen it on television. But if you are deeply fascinated by what the world really looks like, you are forced to be very interested in any way of making a picture that you come across. 

A Bigger Message - Conversations with David Hockney