Reclining Nude 1980

Roy Lichtenstein made this woodcut called Reclining Nude sometime in the late 20th century. The starkness of the black, yellow, and white, makes me think about printing - I love the way the black ink sits on the paper. There's a boldness in those thick, black outlines, like he's carving out a new kind of space for the nude. I want to focus on the face - that single, sharp eye stares right through you, doesn't it? And the hand, seemingly supporting the weight of the head, looks strangely disembodied. It’s almost cartoonish, yet feels monumental, too. Lichtenstein's work always makes me think of Warhol, his contemporary, who also blurred the lines between high art and pop culture. Both artists invite us to question what we see, and how we see it. And maybe, just maybe, to see the beauty in the everyday.