Visual Artist – David Hockney ✔Certified
A Bigger Splash (1967)
Impact 🟪: 89%
David Hockney’s “A Bigger Splash” (1967) depicts a swimming pool beside a modern house, disturbed by a large splash of water created by an unseen figure who has apparently just jumped in from a diving board. Measuring 242.5 cm by 243.9 cm, it was painted in California between April and June 1967.
The painting was made using acrylic Liquitex on white cotton duck canvas. Hockney applied the paint very evenly and flat with a paint roller, in two or three layers. The central splash was heavily worked over a period of about two weeks using a variety of small brushes. Hockney explained that the effect became more stunning as it got bigger, noting that everyone knows a splash cannot be frozen in time, so seeing it captured in a painting is even more striking than in a photograph.
Here’s how this rating breaks down using the Consistent Multi-Criteria Rubric method:
Technical Skill and Execution (25% of total score): 9/10 = 2.25 points Masterful use of acrylic paint with innovative application techniques. Flawless handling of flat color surfaces, precise geometric composition, and meticulous detail work in the splash.
Composition and Design (25% of total score): 9/10 = 2.25 points Strong geometric composition with carefully balanced horizontals and verticals. The diagonal diving board and explosive splash create dynamic tension against the stillness of the scene.
Originality and Creativity (20% of total score): 9/10 = 1.80 points Bold exploration of California lifestyle and innovative approach to capturing a fleeting moment. Fresh perspective on Pop Art themes through personal vision.
Color Use and Harmony (15% of total score): 9/10 = 1.35 points Limited but effective palette featuring vibrant blues, warm earth tones, and clean whites that perfectly capture the California sunshine and modernist aesthetic.
Emotional Impact and Expression (15% of total score): 8/10 = 1.20 points Evokes a strong sense of place and moment, capturing both the tranquility and sudden energy of California pool culture. The absence of the diver creates intriguing mystery.
Total: 89%
The high score reflects the painting’s enormous cultural impact and iconic status, becoming one of the defining images of 20th-century art and establishing the visual language of California modernism.
