Untitled [standing nude with her right arm akimbo] 1955 - 1967

Editor: Right, so we're looking at a pencil drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, made sometime between 1955 and 1967. It’s called *Untitled [standing nude with her right arm akimbo]*. The quick, almost gestural lines give it such a casual and immediate feel. What catches your eye about this drawing? Curator: Oh, I adore Diebenkorn’s nudes. There's a vulnerability, wouldn’t you say? A rawness. That single line, barely suggesting the form, speaks volumes. It's as if he's not trying to capture a perfect likeness, but something far more fleeting. I wonder, when you look at it, do you get a sense of how Diebenkorn plays with abstraction within figuration? He’s almost daring the image to dissolve, isn't he? Editor: Absolutely, the abstraction is so present. There's something unfinished about it that I find really appealing. Do you think that embracing of imperfection speaks to something larger about art of this period? Curator: Beautifully put! Precisely! It's about process, isn't it? The journey, not just the destination. And the emotional connection – Diebenkorn wasn’t after cold perfection, it seems. I think of it this way: he was sketching an idea, almost to himself, a visual whisper made public. I get the feeling we're seeing his thought process. Isn't that wonderfully intimate? Editor: That makes so much sense. I hadn't really considered that aspect of it – like we are eavesdropping on his creative exploration. Curator: It is eavesdropping! Art shouldn’t be an authoritarian voice, or so removed, right? Perhaps it’s an open ended invitation for our minds to complete that artful equation… This reminds me to return to sketching sometime soon myself. I shall thank Richard, the silent maestro.