James Sellars and David Hockney – haplomatics

‘Haplomatics’ is an animated techno-fantasy that combines original text and music by the American composer James Sellars with xerographs by the British artist David Hockney. Their collaboration has not previously been detailed and the unique combination of text-music-image that culminated in Haplomatics deserves closer attention. Their experimentations coalesced into a collaborative work of extraordinary proportions. A companion to the exhibition at the New Britain Museum of American Art, this book provides insight and access to a rare yet significant work. In addition to reproducing the Hockney Haplomes and the full text of ‘Haplomatics’, the book offers a detailed chronicle of the collaboration between Sellars and Hockney and describes the intersectional ties that exist between the text, music, images and the animated video.