Thinking : Art as compression - Feed ...the reason you can’t look at a photograph for a long time is because there’s virtually no time in it - the imbalance between the two experiences, the first and second lookings, is too extreme."/> ...the reason you can’t look at a photograph for a long time is because there’s virtually no time in it - the imbalance between the two experiences, the first and second lookings, is too extreme."/>

Feed<br>Wednesday, July 29th, 2026 at 10:20 AM<br>Thinking<br>Art as compression<br>David Hockney talking about the difference between photography and painting:

...the reason you can’t look at a photograph for a long time is because there’s virtually no time in it - the imbalance between the two experiences, the first and second lookings, is too extreme.

I think you could poke holes in this, but I like the model:

The work of art is imbued with the energy of the artist looking

The viewer can unlock that energy by looking carefully at the work

The artist compresses their perception of the moment and the scene, then the viewer opens it back up. The unfolding does not fully recover the artist's experience -- and that's even better. The viewer interpolates in their own experience to the shape provided.