Parade
Signed Print

A figure sits on a chair on top of a rudimentary kind of chariot. Beside him is another figure who could be a conductor, above his head floats a blue guitar. He faces a series of strange shapes that seem neither entirely geometric or organic. The sky or ceiling seems to be falling into the scene and yet the composition is serene, perhaps because of its soft lines and tones. Below the chair a mess of tumbleweed made up of wiry red lines travels past and draws our eye to the bars of music at the bottom of the sheet. While we cannot hear the melody denoted by the sheet music it too adds an element of calmness to the scene which could otherwise be framed by a kind of discord or juxtaposition. This enigmatic scene is part of David Hockney's 1976-77 series The Blue Guitar which was inspired by Wallace Stevens’s 1937 poem of the same name, which was in turn inspired by Picasso’s 1903 painting – one of the most famous from his Blue Period – The Old Guitarist. The title of this work, Parade, could also be read as a reference to the ballet of the same name by Jean Cocteau and Eric Satie for which Picasso designed the set and costumes.