Sunrise: Separation Drawing for Yellow 1965

Roy Lichtenstein created this "Sunrise: Separation Drawing for Yellow" on paper with ink. You can clearly see the hand of the artist in the slight imperfections of the lines. It’s important to understand that this is not the final artwork, but one step in a commercial printing process. Lichtenstein would have created similar drawings for each color that was to appear in the final print. These would then be transferred to printing plates. In this case, the drawing has been marked “yellow.” What’s so interesting here is how Lichtenstein’s fine art practice drew on industrial modes of production. The drawing is not an end in itself, but a means to an end – the mass-produced image. Lichtenstein blurs the line between the artist’s studio and the factory floor, asking us to consider the labor involved in making images, and their role in a consumer society. He compels us to rethink how we see art, design, and even labor itself.