Monica Sitting with Mondrian 1989

Curator: This is Tom Wesselmann's "Monica Sitting with Mondrian," crafted in 1989 using acrylic. It's quite striking, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely, my first impression is one of cheeky insouciance. The lines are so bold and flippant, a wink to both classical nudes and severe abstraction. There’s a sense of joyfully thumbing your nose at tradition here. Curator: Wesselmann always had that pop art sensibility, didn’t he? Juxtaposing the nude—an age-old artistic subject—with Mondrian's grid... It feels playful, almost like a stage set. And I like how the background isn't a faithful Mondrian reproduction. Those squiggly color fields inject a touch of the haphazard, softening the rigidity of the geometric design. Editor: Precisely! That contrast sings. We have Monica, the almost-but-not-quite pin-up girl reduced to flat planes and then… *BAM*… Mondrian bursts forth as backdrop. In this case, the painting almost satirizes itself, questioning this constant need for seriousness. Curator: There is a great question about seriousness. I also think the black outlines and the limited color palette—aside from Mondrian’s blocks—simplify and exaggerate her form. It's a modern odalisque, flattened and stylized. How do you read her expression? She’s facing us, yet there’s no real facial detail to read, beyond those cherry lips and solid hair. Editor: Exactly, she’s an archetype. The facelessness amplifies this. I read a deliberate erasure—reducing her identity to a simplified symbol of womanhood. Think about it—her black hair functions as an opaque screen—preventing us from penetrating any supposed depths, or inner self. I’m oddly okay with that! Curator: I can appreciate that viewpoint! Perhaps that lack of identity, and all that bold simplification is freeing. As we wrap up, for me, it shows how you can combine classic themes with a fresh take and just, maybe, create a fun tension along the way! Editor: Indeed. Ultimately, “Monica Sitting with Mondrian” highlights a sense of cultural layering: history meets modernity in a visually witty package. And what a gorgeous pairing, I must say.