Untitled [back view of female model with hand on hip] 1955 - 1967

Curator: I see vulnerability here. Like she’s bracing herself for something… or maybe she’s just tired, you know? Beautifully exhausted. Editor: Indeed. What strikes me about Richard Diebenkorn’s "Untitled [back view of female model with hand on hip]" drawn sometime between 1955 and 1967 with ink on paper, is the interesting dichotomy of vulnerability and resilience. The woman's pose suggests a quiet strength even as the scratchy, anxious lines evoke a certain fragility. Curator: I love that. The anxious lines– totally get that. And her posture. It’s so real. Not posed, really. Like we’ve just caught her in a moment. Editor: The gestural lines indeed provide that sense of spontaneity and immediacy. How do you see the artist fitting within a history of looking at female bodies and how does it intersect with mid-century societal attitudes about women and the male gaze? Curator: You know, I’m not sure it does, entirely. It feels different, less… predatory, maybe? There’s something about the abstraction, how he simplifies her, that moves past the purely physical, more towards a feeling. The ink kind of dissolves her into pure sensation, if that makes sense? Editor: It does, in a way, but let’s consider that what may read as simplicity is often the product of deliberate artistic choices. There is a certain degree of power, too, in seeing her turned away – not confronting the viewer’s gaze head-on. It disrupts those established tropes. Curator: Absolutely! It reminds me a bit of, like, standing at the edge of something—a diving board, a cliff—and just taking a breath before jumping. Or not jumping. The choice is ours. Maybe that’s the resilience you mentioned. Editor: It could very well be. It is a compelling way to interpret it – leaving it open, not resolved. I appreciate your insight. Curator: Yours too. It makes you wonder what she's about to do, doesn't it? Such power in this pose. Editor: Definitely leaves much to ponder about representation, identity and…inner fortitude.