When the Queen awarded David Hockney the Order of Merit, it was obviously in recognition of his impressive contribution to the British Art Scene. Hockney is, arguably, the country’s greatest living artist.
But it is tempting to imagine that she was also thinking of that OTHER David Hockney – the one who dares to express his contempt for the shallow, health-centred Utopia that is being built for us. How ironic that a man famous for working in two dimensions has a clearer picture of the complexities and depth of human experience than those who seek to reduce us for our own good.
Hockney has our thanks for speaking up, and our assurance that he is not alone. In answering his critics – those Tobacco-Haters – he answers for us all. He is someone like us.