Crying Girl 1964

Editor: This is Roy Lichtenstein’s "Crying Girl" from 1964, an acrylic on paper. It’s hard not to immediately see it as dramatic, even a bit funny. The comic-style printing, the bold colors...it’s almost a caricature of sadness. What am I missing? What do you see when you look at it? Curator: Oh, the delicious paradox of it all! You've already hit upon its essence, really. Lichtenstein loved teasing out those tensions. It's a melodramatic pose, lifted straight from a comic book panel, made monumental. She’s frozen, simplified. A real, complex feeling reduced to…dots! Don't you find that poignant, somehow? Editor: Definitely. It makes you think about how emotions are portrayed, especially for women. But is it supposed to be a critique, or is he just borrowing the image? Curator: Aha, that's the million-dollar question! He’s definitely borrowing, transforming… I hesitate to say critiquing in a preachy way. More like holding a mirror up to the way we consume and represent feelings. Like a shiny, pop-art funhouse mirror! What does her stylized sorrow say to you about the way women’s emotions are portrayed in media? Editor: I think it points out how often women are shown as overly emotional, almost as a stereotype. And by making it so obvious, it’s almost like he’s asking us to reconsider that. Curator: Precisely! And isn't it fascinating how those Benday dots, that very artificiality, can still evoke…something real? I feel almost complicit when I view this. Editor: I do too! I came in thinking it was a simple image, but it really gets you thinking. Thanks! Curator: The pleasure was all mine. Remember, with Pop Art, it’s never *just* dots! There’s always a conversation hiding beneath the surface.