Untitled [woman's head and a keyboard] 1955 - 1967

Editor: This is an untitled pencil drawing on paper by Richard Diebenkorn, created sometime between 1955 and 1967. It features a woman's head in profile along with what appears to be a keyboard. It feels very intimate and almost unfinished, a glimpse into the artist's process. What do you see in this piece? Curator: What immediately strikes me is the dichotomy between the represented forms and the rendering itself. We have a representational subject—the profile of a woman, suggested keys of what can be interpreted as a piano or typewriter—but Diebenkorn disengages with pure mimesis through a clear display of the material's affordances, here, a pencil on paper. Note how the hatched lines articulate volume but do not blend into seamless tonal gradations. The visible mark-making prioritizes the artistic process and tactile quality of the medium. Editor: So, it's less about capturing an exact likeness and more about… exploring the act of drawing itself? Curator: Precisely. Consider how the implied presence of the keyboard contrasts with the woman's serene profile. The keyboard, a symbol of creation and communication, becomes part of an equation. Diebenkorn draws attention to the structure and texture, thus moving past pure representational accuracy, by inviting us to interpret a synthesis of subject, material, and execution. It's form taking precedence, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Yes, now I see it! The roughness, the visible pencil strokes... it's not a polished portrait, it is like we are watching him thinking. Thanks for making me focus on how he is constructing the drawing, it completely changed how I understand the artwork. Curator: Indeed. Approaching it this way allows for a much deeper understanding and appreciation.