Untitled (Abstract landscape) 1966

Curator: What an intriguing piece. This is a print, an untitled abstract landscape by Edward B. Koren, created in 1966. Editor: My first impression is of organized chaos. It's a landscape, yes, but it feels claustrophobic, overgrown. The black and white amplifies the tension, like a dense forest drawn from memory. Curator: The '60s were a period of tremendous social and artistic upheaval. Abstract Expressionism, though waning, still cast a long shadow. Prints, like this, made art more accessible to a wider public. Editor: And the linear quality! These winding, interconnected lines almost feel like a visual representation of thoughts branching and tangling. The stark black and white—it reminds me of psychological landscapes, like Rorschach tests, where interpretation is key. Is there something darker suggested in the "growth?" Curator: That’s an interesting interpretation. In art of this period, artists often grapple with depicting the landscape, both as a reflection of internal states and as commentary on the changing environment. This piece feels particularly relevant given rising anxieties of ecological imbalance. Editor: I see the forms as deeply symbolic, those looping lines are restrictive almost suffocating which might indicate an overwhelmed human psyche grappling with natural forces that feel insurmountable or inescapable. Curator: I agree. Koren, who is also known for his cartoons, seems to suggest with these abstracted forms the unyielding presence of nature itself, simultaneously a source of refuge and potential anxiety. Editor: Looking at the line work again I see the resemblance to nervous doodles. Could it reflect contemporary alienation, a loss of connection between humanity and the natural world that we now only interpret instead of inhabit? Curator: Precisely, I feel that this work, beyond just the individual artist, reflects an era questioning established norms and fearing imminent, perhaps ecological, changes to our landscape. It's no wonder, with societal tensions escalating around him. Editor: After discussing, the maze like nature, the oppressive lines…it evokes less peace, and more a kind of visual warning from nature itself. Curator: Yes, I see how the era very likely helped shaped this striking interpretation of nature in a turbulent age.