Blue sky, swimming pool and hockney painting

Blue Sky and Pool

It was a time when I was still new to the company, and it would take a while before I grew accustomed to life as a working adult. Near the office stood a large factory, and at the edge of its grounds there was an outdoor swimming pool reserved for employees.

In the summer, I often went there to swim. During my lunch break or in the evening after work, taking a quick swim became almost a daily ritual to clear my mind.

Above me stretched a cloudless blue sky, and the water was slightly cold. As I swam, it felt as though all the excess noise and heat in my head were being washed away, refreshing both body and mind.

The time I spent in that pool transported me somewhere else. Perhaps it was like a brief holiday, cut off from the world.

Even now, I still recall that blue sky and the chill of the water as a vivid fragment of summer.

David Hockney’s Pool

When speaking of pools, one inevitably recalls the paintings of David Hockney.

David Hockney, originally from England, moved to California and rose to fame with his radiant series of swimming pool paintings. Among the pop artists of his generation were Andy Warhol,

Roy Lichtenstein

Jasper Jones, among others.

All of them are painted in vivid colors, transforming everyday scenes into works of art.

Among them, however, Hockney’s pool paintings stand out: they depict the shimmer of the water’s surface, the fleeting ripples of a dive, the quiet presence of architecture and chairs, and the intense light of Southern California. These are not mere landscapes, but rather motifs said to symbolize the sense of freedom, abundance, and lifestyle he experienced after moving from London to the American West Coast.

The depiction of water is particularly important. Hockney captured the transparency and shimmer of the pool through flat brushstrokes and geometric lines, expressing both the stillness of time seemingly frozen and the coexistence of a single fleeting moment—the splash of a dive. Human figures are rarely present; instead, only traces remain, leaving the viewer to imagine the story behind them.

The light and water in Hockney’s paintings, as if abstracting the memory of summer, recall the feelings of freedom and tranquility within our own memories, offering a sense of comfort and ease.

Memory is a canvas for the individual. Upon it, a picture only one can see is quietly painted, untouchable by others. And yet, it certainly exists, remaining deep within the heart.

Painting, on the other hand, is shared memory. The artist’s vision takes shape in color and form, reaching the eyes of others. While everyone looks at the same work, each recalls a different memory within themselves.

The memories thus awakened may merge through words, and once those words are received by someone else, they may transform again into new memories.

Reference

1. David Hockney and the Pool Paintings

• Marco Livingstone, David Hockney (Thames & Hudson, 2008).
  A standard monograph on Hockney’s work, offering detailed analysis of his pool series and use of color.

• Christopher Simon Sykes, David Hockney: A Pilgrim’s Progress (Doubleday, 2012).
  A biographical account that traces Hockney’s journey from London to California, highlighting the symbolism of light and swimming pools.

2. Memory and Collective Memory

• Maurice Halbwachs, On Collective Memory (University of Chicago Press, 1992).
  A foundational text introducing the concept of “collective memory,” showing how personal memories are always embedded in a social framework.

• Jan Assmann, Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination(Cambridge University Press, 2011).
  Explores how memories become externalized and shared through language, symbols, and cultural practices.

3. Memory, Experience, and Visual Art

• Susan Sontag, On Photography (Picador, 1977).
  Discusses photography as an “externalization of memory,” and how images shape the way personal experiences are shared with others.

• E. H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion (Princeton University Press, 1960).
  A classic study of how visual representation interacts with the viewer’s prior experiences and memories.

4. Personal Memory and Literary Expression

• Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time (Penguin Classics, 2003, trans. C. K. Scott Moncrieff & Terence Kilmartin).
  A literary masterpiece illustrating how individual memories are triggered by sensory impressions and transformed into art.