Artist 1970

This madcap drawing was hatched on paper by Saul Steinberg, no date given. I love the way Steinberg uses humble materials like colored pencil to elevate simple lines into sophisticated statements. It’s artmaking as thinking, a process laid bare. Look at the hill, the artist-dog teetering on top, painting, with all these strange characters strewn below. The color is thin, the surface raw, a kind of deadpan absurdism. The lines are so direct, almost childlike, but the composition is complex, a real juggling act. There’s the cat with the crazy eyes, the dismembered human, the flying fish with teeth! It’s a parade of the peculiar. Steinberg reminds me a bit of Paul Klee, who also embraced playful experimentation. Both artists show us that art doesn't always need to shout; sometimes, the quietest voices carry the most weight. It’s a reminder that art can be a conversation, an open field of possibilities, rather than a closed book.