Three tree tops 

Editor: Here we have "Three Tree Tops," a pencil drawing on paper. It feels incomplete, like a fragment of a larger study. What do you see in this piece from a formalist perspective? Curator: The most compelling aspect is the artist's engagement with line. Note the variation in pressure and thickness. In the canopies, there is a density of short, overlapping strokes, almost vibrating with texture, versus the trunk which shows simple strokes indicating form. Editor: It's interesting how the lower portions of the trees are barely suggested. Is that intentional? Curator: It directs our eye upwards, foregrounding the formal problem of rendering foliage through line alone. How can one communicate volume and depth using only the most basic of artistic elements? Note how the negative space around the leaves also contributes to our understanding of their shapes. It creates an almost Cubist interplay between form and void. Editor: So, for you, the beauty of this drawing lies in how the artist uses line to explore shape and form? Curator: Precisely. It’s a study in reduction, stripping the landscape down to its most fundamental components. It's an investigation of the inherent qualities of the medium itself, pencil on paper, line defining form. Editor: I see it now! It’s like the artist is revealing the bare bones of how we perceive trees, how we construct an image from minimal cues. Curator: Indeed. It allows us to appreciate the power of simple lines, and how they combine to convey not only representation, but an artistic thought.