Seated Woman 1967

This is Seated Woman, drawn with graphite on paper by Jacob Kainen in 1967. The artist seems to be figuring out the essence of the figure, as if the body is a problem to be solved with lines. I can almost see Kainen circling the image, trying to find the right marks. The thing that grabs me is the series of lines that suggest a stomach or the curve of her chest. It’s not quite either, it’s somewhere in between. These lines aren’t descriptive, they're more like clues. Kainen isn't trying to trick us into seeing a real body. The marks don’t quite line up, and this awkwardness brings me closer to the drawing. You know, someone like Guston would have been wrestling with similar ideas at this time. It's all about that back and forth between the eye and the hand, with no easy answers.