Skizze von Tanzenden (Sketch of Two Dancers) [p. 65] 

This is Max Beckmann's "Sketch of Two Dancers", a drawing rendered with graphite on paper. The composition is immediately striking for its dynamism. Beckmann uses quick, gestural lines to capture the movement of the dancers. Observe how the figures are not precisely defined. Instead, they emerge from a network of lines, almost as if they are in perpetual motion. The rough sketch challenges fixed notions of form and representation. The structuralist might say that Beckmann’s sketch relies on the relationship between presence and absence. While the dancers are represented, their forms are fleeting and incomplete. This interplay between presence and absence suggests that the sketch is less about capturing a concrete image of dancers, and more about conveying the energy and rhythm inherent in dance. Note how the dancers are positioned in relation to one another. This arrangement invites us to consider the semiotic system of dance, a language of bodies. The work invites us to engage with art as a dynamic process.