Untitled [standing female nude with crossed legs] 1955 - 1967

Curator: Here we have an untitled drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, created sometime between 1955 and 1967. It features a standing female nude rendered in pencil. Editor: It’s deceptively simple. The lines are so economical, almost hurried, yet they capture the weight and stance of the figure. There’s a beautiful sense of imperfection in the mark-making. Curator: Diebenkorn’s work, especially around this period, often explored figuration while engaging with the evolving tenets of Modernism. Consider how the nude, traditionally loaded with art historical baggage, is here approached with a kind of casual directness. There isn’t idealization. Editor: Exactly. I see that rejection of idealization in the handling of the material too. It’s just pencil on paper; there is no artifice here. The visibility of the process-- the tentative lines, the slight corrections—it emphasizes the hand of the artist and his labor. I like that Diebenkorn seems to invite us to consider the making, the means of production. Curator: That rawness could also reflect the socio-political atmosphere of the time, a growing unease with established norms. How are our cultural understandings of femininity being deconstructed here? He went on to paint over one thousand drawings such as these. Editor: It's fascinating that such a monumental output began from such simple materials. What a daily rhythm that implies for Diebenkorn. It shows us the value placed in drawing by a modern master. Curator: Absolutely. The act of drawing was perhaps a mode of personal investigation. Editor: Yes, almost like he used that time to consider these images outside the art market, an escape. Curator: Well, thanks for joining me, I feel like I better understand his work in the context of his career after that perspective. Editor: The pleasure was all mine, I hope you will take another walk with me to contemplate new and challenging works of art.