Artist's studio - The dance (sketch) 1974

Curator: Welcome. We are standing before Roy Lichtenstein’s "Artist's Studio - The Dance (Sketch)," completed in 1974 and now residing here at MoMA. Lichtenstein is, of course, celebrated for his distinctive take on pop art and appropriation, here realized through graphic art and acrylic paint. Editor: Ah, the dance! It feels…contained. Like a stage set before the play begins. There's a nervous energy here, but muted, almost clinical. The lemons, for example, offer this jarring color against all of this sketchwork; what are we even looking at? Curator: The "Artist's Studio" series, in fact, functions as a dialogue between Lichtenstein’s style and the legacy of modern art, incorporating and reinterpreting elements from artists like Matisse. This sketch is explicitly self-referential in Lichtenstein’s own artistic practice; he pulls from his body of work, quoting the gestures, images and characters from throughout his own art history. Notice the juxtaposition of the flat planes of color with the textured shading in pencil. Editor: Exactly, look at the lemons! Against the crude background scribbles, that pop really SCREAMS "commercialism"! Yet... is it supposed to make me feel like a voyeur peeking into a space? A life even, with hints of culture on display? He is mocking the upper classes, right? It's kinda humorous, with all these half-hearted symbols thrown together like this! Curator: We can certainly perceive the layering of meanings and artistic references, which point toward his use of formal and historical motifs to question the traditional hierarchies within art. His utilization of comic art tropes here functions to further critique originality and authenticity, as evidenced in his figuration using familiar outlines and compositions within new arrangements. Editor: True. Looking closely now, you could read this work as an examination of the modern still life, the stage as still, the life off center. It's quite cerebral. What looked slapdash initially is a very calculated and thoughtful curation by Lichtenstein. And very much playing up the themes of high and low culture! Curator: Precisely, that tension lies at the core of this composition. Editor: Well, now I see beyond the initial impression. It is amazing how, upon reflection, one starts to discern deeper meanings!