Bedlam

This print is part of Hockney’s homage to William Hogarth and loose documentation of his first visit to New York in 1961. Here we are presented with the culmination of the story told throughout the prints. The figure in the radio t-shirt from the print before, Meeting The Other People, has been replicated to become five men standing in a row with their backs to us.

Each is wearing a headphone on their right side from which music is playing. They face a wall emblazoned with the word ‘Bedlam’ in bright red capital letters. While Hockney’s version often strayed from Hogarth’s subject matter, here they converge again, albeit in entirely different ways. Hogarth’s protagonist, Tom Rakewell also ends up in a mental institution, however the 18th century artist’s take on the scene is highly detailed and follows the linear narrative that runs throughout the series. Hockney instead takes a more abstract approach to both subject and style, presenting fragmented scenes and spare compositions, often relying on large areas of black ink and clouds of red to convey a sense of foreboding and misfortune.

While not as straightforward to read, these images are powerful in the sense of unease they evoke in the viewer who is left with misgivings about life in modern America.