December 4, 2001

Legendary artist and author David Hockney will be guest of the Kentucky Author Forum on December 4, 2001 in Louisville. Hockney will discuss his new book "Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters." (Penquin Putnam)

One of the most critically acclaimed contemporary artists, Hockney's innovative work influences nearly every medium - painting, drawing, stage design, photography and print making. In "Secret Knowledge" he rewrites the story of how Western artists made the great drawings and paintings of the last six centuries.

From his artist's perspective, Hockney asks how painters rendered their work rather than why. What he has discovered is that artists six-hundred years ago used lenses and mirrors to project color images of their subjects (people, fruit, vegetables, flowers, household objects) onto flat surfaces, and then traced those projected scenes with lifelike precision onto canvas or paper.

A chance observation in London's National Gallery led Hockney to develop his provocative insights and theories. Fueled by the passion of his pursuit, Hockney set aside his brushes, stopped painting, and over the course of two years he obsessively tracked down the hidden secrets Van Eyck, Holbein, da Vinci and other others among history's greatest painters. Backing up his theories with extensive scientific and visual evidence Hockney effectively argues that the widespread use of lenses and mirrors throughout the Renaissance produced a certain "look" that became the dominant way of representing and seeing the external world. Yet despite his discovery of artists' use of technical aids, Hockney leaves their personal mystique and talent intact, reminding readers throughout that the masters, not lenses, made their marks in paint with their own individual style and flair.

Given an extraordinary fresh look through the eyes of a contemporary master, hundreds of paintings of the great artists of the Renaissance are reproduced in "Secret Knowledge" in lavish color. To clarify his notions, Hockney uses his own drawings and photographs to clearly and simply illustrate how artists would have used the various optical devices available to them. Extracts from historical and modern documents provide further evidence and correspondence between Hockney and international experts details both the evolution of his theory and the furor that has erupted over it.

Achieving international success by his mid-20s, first as a leading Pop artist, Hockney's phenomenal success has been based not only on the flair, wit and versatility of his work, but also on his colorful personality. Michael Kimmelman, chief art critic of the New York Times, will interview him at the evening forum. A finalist in criticism for the Pulitzer Prize in 2000, Kimmelman has written on various cultural subjects for many publications. His book "Portraits: Talking with Artists at the Met, the Modern, the Louvre and Elsewhere" was selected as a notable book of the year by The Washington Post and The Times and a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly.

Tuesday, December 4, 2001

This edition of the Kentucky Author Forums is sponsored by the University
of Louisville and recorded by WFPL Radio and KET-TV.

Kentucky Center for the Arts
5 Riverfront Plaza, Downtown Louisville

The evening's activities are as follows:

• 5:00 p.m. Hawley-Cooke Booksellers book sale and wine and cheese reception
  provided by Brown Forman, Lobby
• 6:00 p.m. Conversation with David Hockney and Michael Kimmelman in the
  Bomhard Theatre
• 7:00 p.m. Q & A followed by book signing on Bittners' stage set
  
  A $16 ticket includes the above three events. A limited number of
  discounted tickets of $5 each is available for U of L students, faculty and staff at the KCA box office --U of L photo ID is required.
• 8:15 p.m. Dinner with the author, hosted by U of L President John Shumaker
  and Mrs. Shumaker. The dinner will be catered by LaPeche.
  
  A $100 package ticket includes the above events plus dinner with David Hockney. (Proceeds go to the nonprofit Kentucky Author Forum, $60 is
  tax-deductible.)

Tickets available at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, 502-584-7777
(1-800-775-7777), TicketMaster at 502-361-3100, or KCA's website at www.kentuckycenter.org.

A taped version of the event will be made available at The Louisville Free Public Library, St. Matthews/Eline Branch, 3940 Grandview Avenue, at 2 pm, Friday, December 7. There is no fee involved, but those interested must sign up in advance due to limited seating. Call the library directly at 574-1771 for further information. WFPL 89.3 FM and the Kentucky Education Network (KET) will record the event for future broadcast, which will be distributed nationally to PBS affiliates.

Wednesday, December 5, 2001

10:00 a.m. David Hockney will speak to U of L students, faculty and staff at the Speed Museum Auditorium on the Belknap Campus.

The Kentucky Author Forum series is produced by Mary Moss Greenebaum and sponsored by the University of Louisville in cooperation with Hawley-Cooke Booksellers; Brown-Forman Corp.; Bittners of Louisville; WFPL, Louisville's NPR Station for News; The Courier-Journal; KET, the Kentucky Network; and the Kentucky Center for the Arts.

624 West Main, Second Floor
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Phone 502.589.2884
Fax 502.589.4334
email KYFORUM@aol.com