Self-Portrait c. 1986s

Curator: Saul Steinberg’s "Self-Portrait," a drawing from around 1986. There's such playful unease radiating from it. It feels immediate, almost like catching the artist in a vulnerable, questioning moment. Editor: The starkness of the line drawing gives it such a raw feeling. What draws you to this self-portrait, beyond that initial reaction? Curator: It's Steinberg wrestling with identity, visually dissecting himself. The geometric shapes, the bold lines... it's not just a face, is it? It’s an architectural rendering of a self, a constructed persona. Look at the mismatched eyes. It’s like he's showing us that perception is fractured, identity is fluid. Are we ever really seeing ourselves, truly? Or is it always a fragmented reflection? Editor: That makes me think about how artificial or performative self-portraits can be. It's as if Steinberg's saying "here is the artifice". Curator: Exactly. And there's something darkly funny about it. The kind of humor that comes from existential pondering, you know? Are you sensing that too, or am I just projecting my own late-night anxieties onto poor Steinberg? Editor: No, I see it too! It’s unsettling but witty. This makes me consider the artifice in self-representation and I see an anxiousness coming through as well. Thanks! Curator: Anxiousness indeed! Art has such a wonderful way of inviting us to our own self-discoveries through someone else’s. I love a chat about visual puzzles.