That's the Way I See It

How the act of visual representation affects what we see--a theme of Hockney's paintings--is a major concern of this lively, unpretentious memoir edited by his friend Stango, who is an editor at the Thames and Hudson publishing house. Picking up where he left off in David Hockney by David Hockney (1976), the English-born artist, who moved to California in 1978, explains how he escaped ``the trap of naturalism'' under the combined influence of Picasso, two years in Paris (1973-75) and encounters with Islamic art in Egypt. He muses on love, imagination and aging, writes movingly of his loss of hearing and of his father's death, and discusses his opera set designs for Tristan and Isolde and The Magic Flute. Dozens of previously unpublished paintings and drawings are closely interwoven with the narrative. Among them are Hockney's most recent works--majestic views of the Pacific coast, room interiors, still lifes and his intriguing experiments with pictures made via personal computer, color laser printer or fax machine. (Nov.)