Untitled [seated nude with resting her head on her knee] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Curator: This drawing, dating from somewhere between 1955 and 1967, is simply titled "Untitled [seated nude with resting her head on her knee] [recto]" by Richard Diebenkorn. Editor: My first thought is of someone finding refuge. A moment of profound inwardness rendered with such startling economy of line. It’s almost painful, but beautiful, you know? Curator: Absolutely. And the term “seated nude” really doesn’t begin to unpack the vulnerability of this depiction. There’s such raw emotion. Consider the artistic context in which this work was made: the gendered power dynamics of the mid-20th century. How did this kind of imagery contribute or speak back to prevailing notions of the objectified female form? Editor: I'm glad you said that! There is no sexualizing happening here. The lines feel almost shaky with feeling and, you know, there's this overwhelming sense of sadness. The crossed-out or re-drawn line work gives a sense of Diebenkorn's own search. Curator: Exactly, Richard Diebenkorn was, throughout his career, keenly invested in how abstraction and representation meet and diverge. Look at the background where the previous drawings peek through, but where their meaning is less defined. We might then ask whether these fragmented depictions, or the lack of solid representation, are indicative of shifting identity, the ambiguity of experience, or perhaps even trauma. Editor: Hmmm, trauma… perhaps! It just feels really… human. Frail, even. Curator: I agree. What’s particularly interesting, I think, is the interplay between form and emotion within the history of the nude. I mean, how do artists negotiate, then and now, this visual territory that has long been shaped by patriarchal conventions? This artist offers an especially important intersectional understanding, it seems. Editor: Absolutely. It just goes to show, doesn’t it? How a few simple lines can just speak volumes! Curator: Yes, volumes about looking inward.