Sixteen-Point Star Pattern II 1975

Editor: This drawing is called *Sixteen-Point Star Pattern II* by Joyce Kozloff, from 1975. The work on textile material really gives off a cool and harmonious vibe; it also looks incredibly complicated! What catches your eye about it? Curator: Well, ignoring any external referents, let’s begin with what's manifestly before us. Note how Kozloff uses the geometric structure of the sixteen-point star to create a complex and visually stimulating composition. The work relies on the interplay between the central motif and its surrounding elements to generate movement and depth. What do you make of the layering? Editor: It definitely adds to the complexity. The different layers interact to create a sense of visual vibration. Curator: Precisely! Consider too, how the varied palette contributes to the drawing’s visual interest. It serves not to illustrate, but to construct relational meaning. The color relationships add visual texture alongside the linear, emphasizing pattern, inviting sustained looking. Do you observe a hierarchy, or perhaps a point of emphasis? Editor: I guess my eye is drawn to the center of each of those large star-shapes. Is there something specific that establishes that visual hierarchy? Curator: Indeed, we see more concentrated colors and the convergence of lines in each star which brings cohesion to the drawing, leading the viewer's eye to this critical junction of pattern and structure. Thinking about those patterns themselves, the drawing encourages a very open sense of meaning, resisting fixed interpretations by privileging formal relationships. Editor: This focus on the structural elements has definitely helped me appreciate the level of complexity that I didn’t initially see. Curator: Indeed, concentrating our attention in this way facilitates a more thoughtful understanding of this aesthetic object.