Self-Portrait in Profile c. 1986s

Curator: So, we’re looking at Saul Steinberg’s “Self-Portrait in Profile,” a pen drawing from around 1986. Editor: It’s such a simple drawing, just lines on paper, but it has a distinct point of view. I can see this is more than a caricature. How do you read this work? Curator: Well, this self-portrait, made late in his career, offers a critical lens through which we can examine the construction of identity. The fragmented and almost cartoonish representation seems to challenge conventional portraiture and notions of selfhood. In what ways might it reflect on broader ideas about representation, particularly for artists whose identities might have been marginalized or stereotyped? Editor: That’s interesting. Do you think the simplicity pushes against those traditional constraints you mentioned? Curator: Exactly. The seeming simplicity belies a deeper commentary. How can the act of distorting or abstracting one’s own image be a way to reclaim agency and subvert dominant narratives? Think about his background: as a Jewish Romanian immigrant in America, and his complicated relationship with cultural expectations… What aspects of identity do you think he's highlighting? Editor: It almost feels like he’s saying identity is fluid, constructed... even a little absurd. Is that part of what you see? Curator: Precisely. It’s a performative gesture, a visual statement about the self being a composite of lines, shapes, and perhaps societal expectations. Editor: This has definitely shifted my understanding. I saw a quick sketch, but now it seems like a powerful statement about self-perception and cultural identity. Curator: Indeed, and it's a potent reminder that even the simplest of images can carry complex layers of meaning, ripe for activist interpretation.