Figure in Landscape 1977

Roy Lichtenstein, sometime in the 20th century, made this, Figure in Landscape, probably with acrylic on canvas. It is really fun to look at! The colours are so flat, and the lines are so hard, it could almost be a print. Yet, that big blobby figure in the middle, that’s painting. It has all the characteristics of a painting but it is made to look like it has been printed. And that makes me think about the relationship between the hand and the machine. The surface of this piece is so smooth, so even, that you can hardly see the brushstrokes. It's almost like he wanted to hide the process, like he didn't want you to see how it was made. But the blob somehow gives the game away. Look how the white blob echoes the black blob of the shadow - and up above, the cloud of thoughts or dreams. It's like the painting is dreaming. Lichtenstein has always been a funny one. I’m not sure he really believed in good or bad taste, but this painting makes you question what those things are anyway. It’s a conversation, and you’re part of it now.