Meaning

Hockney is expressing admiration for something he clearly considers undervalued: the willingness and ability to be genuinely oneself. Individuality, in his view, is not simply a personality quirk but something that takes a kind of courage. The fact that he calls it rare suggests he believes most people tend toward conformity, consciously or not, which makes those who resist that pull stand out as worthy of respect and appreciation.

Context

This remark comes from an interview Hockney gave around the 1990s, a period when he was already a celebrated and internationally recognized artist. By that point in his career, he had earned the freedom to speak plainly about his values and aesthetic convictions. His admiration for individuality is consistent with his own artistic path, which involved constant experimentation and a refusal to settle into a single recognizable style simply because it had brought him success.

About the author

David Hockney is a British painter born in Bradford, England, who studied at the Royal College of Art in London before becoming one of the most prominent figures in twentieth and twenty-first century art. He is closely associated with the pop art movement, though his work has ranged far beyond any single category, including portraiture, landscape painting, and exploration of photography and digital media. He has lived and worked extensively in California as well as England, and his paintings, drawings, and prints are held in major collections around the world.