Untitled 

Editor: Here we have an untitled drawing by Zdzislaw Beksinski, probably done in ink and pencil. It has this surreal and unsettling feeling to it, especially with the distorted figure and chaotic lines. How should we approach such a complex piece? Curator: The linework immediately suggests a rigorous and repetitive process. Look at how the material, probably a simple pencil, is used to create texture, volume, and a sense of unease. Where do you think that unease comes from? Is it just subject matter? Editor: I guess it’s also how the human form is depicted - almost as a construction of these frenzied strokes, rather than a smooth, idealized body. Is Beksinski commenting on the labor of creating the self, perhaps? Curator: Exactly! The act of drawing, the repetitive mark-making, becomes a metaphor for the construction of identity, but one fraught with anxiety. Consider the accessibility of drawing as a medium too. It's immediate, requires little capital, and yet Beksinski pushes it towards these complex, even disturbing, territories. How does that impact our understanding? Editor: So, he’s using a simple medium to explore profound, unsettling ideas about the self, almost democratizing access to these existential anxieties through the common materials and visible labor of the artwork. Curator: Precisely. It breaks down hierarchies between skill and subject matter. It reminds us that even the simplest tools, and processes, can be channels for profound artistic statements, and that artmaking doesn't always demand fancy material to be valid. Editor: I never thought about pencil in that light! Thanks, I’ll definitely see drawing materials differently from now on. Curator: And hopefully appreciate that all artistic choices contribute to meaning, whether simple or complex, in drawing as well as our own daily labor.