Untitled [side view of a seated model] 1955 - 1967

Editor: This is Richard Diebenkorn's "Untitled [side view of a seated model]," created between 1955 and 1967, using ink. The stark contrast between the black ink and the white paper creates a really dramatic, almost unsettling feeling for me. What draws your attention when you look at it? Curator: Indeed, the interplay of positive and negative space is immediately striking. Observe how the artist utilizes the materiality of ink—the fluidity, the gradations in tone—to construct a figurative representation that simultaneously verges on abstraction. How does the composition lead your eye across the surface? Editor: I notice my eye is drawn from the upper left, the head area, down along the figure and chair. It almost feels top-heavy. Curator: Precisely. Consider the structural implications of this imbalance. Diebenkorn here seems to be actively destabilizing conventional notions of portraiture. Note how the robust, almost aggressive, strokes of ink delineate form. Could one interpret this emphasis on mark-making as a kind of subversion, foregrounding the act of representation over mimetic accuracy? Editor: That’s fascinating. So instead of just seeing a seated figure, we're seeing the artist's process, the active decision-making happening right on the paper? Curator: Precisely. Reflect upon how the artist has pushed the medium, exploring the relationship between line, form, and the void. Do you discern any inherent logic within this visual language? Editor: I do now. Focusing on the balance of these visual components really does reveal so much more than just a quick representational reading. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Paying close attention to the artist's decisions unveils profound insight into this drawing's composition and construction.