David Hockney, A Bigger Splash, 1967

The final post. Here we go. I have no opening to bring anything new to the table in our series, Art is Motion. It's the final piece of the puzzle. It's supposed to tie things together, not add another string. For this final painting I chose a piece that I loved before I even knew that Barstow offered art history: David Hockney's A Bigger Splash.

As far as movement goes, it's a very still painting save for the water bursting forth from the pool. In fact, the painting seems to capture the aftermath of motion. Rather than depict the diver midway between board and pool, Hockney chooses instead to capture the beauty of the moment that immediately follows.

 I see this as an invitation to allow my mind to wander. I wander deep into the water. What lies beneath? It depends on my mood. I wander into the home. What kind of person lives there? Maybe I live there, who knows. I wander into the infinite blue of the sky beyond, just missing the palm trees on my way. A Bigger Splash creates for me a blank slate in which my movement through the painting becomes the movement of the painting. Of course, theres the splash there too, but maybe I made that.

On a much more basic level, I enjoy this painting because it reminds me of summer, of swimming, of sunburns. It reminds me of good times that I've spent with friends out in the cool waters of the neighborhood pool, doing flips and pulling tricks off the diving board. It reminds me of Wes Anderson flicks like Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, two movies that I first shared with people dear to me. This painting is too popular to ever truly be mine, but my reading and my memories are my own, and in that way I have carved out my own little niche in its appreciation.

As I write this only one day remains between summer and myself. I know not what the future holds, I know not what I plan to do with the lazy days stretched out before me like the length of the Leawood swimming pool, but I made a splash this past year. It's time to make a bigger one.