When I went to see Pearblossom Highway at the Getty, I was quite amazed. I could see it through two dimly lit photography galleries. I could see it from far away. In fact, it looked like a big painting. Any collage previous to that would not work that way, and they weren’t done that way either. This was by far the most complex of the pieces. Actually I’ve never seen one like it since. It’s a very complex construction. You are moving all around it. I was moving all over the place, not just in one spot making a panorama. You are an active participant. That’s what draws you in. It was first shown in New York, at the International Center for Photography in 1986. Later it was shown in the retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum, where they have interesting facts about exhibitions–mostly about how many people attend. People spent longer looking at Pearblossom Highway than almost any other picture. I said I think I can understand why. I suggested that photography is a medium everybody knows and understands. The processing was absolutely ordinary. Everything was printed in the one-hour Fotomat.

— David Hockney, HOCKNEY ON ART: CONVERSATIONS WITH PAUL JOYCE