Two Paintings 1984

Roy Lichtenstein made this screenprint, called Two Paintings, sometime in his career as a Pop Artist. It's like he's asking, what happens when we flatten out not just the image, but also the process of making an image? I love how Lichtenstein takes the idea of "high" and "low" art and just smashes them together. This piece has two distinct sections, almost like a diptych. The top part has these abstract shapes, bold lines, and a graphic punch. Down below, we have what looks like a cubist portrait, a nod to Picasso maybe, but done in Lichtenstein's signature Ben-Day dots. There’s something about the way Lichtenstein appropriates and transforms styles that makes you rethink everything. It's less about what it means, and more about how we see. For another artist playing with perception look at Jasper Johns. They both ask: what is representation anyway?