Untitled 1961

Editor: This is an "Untitled" ink drawing and print by Louis Bunce, made in 1961. The contrasting bold pink and black areas, along with the rough, scratchy lines, give it a rather unsettling feel. What catches your eye in this piece, what do you think is the most important visual aspect? Curator: The dynamism inherent in the composition arrests my attention immediately. Consider the juxtaposition of the solid planar band of rose madder at the top, a geometric counterpoint to the frenetic energy of the etched forms below. The positive and negative space creates an almost vibrating visual experience, a kind of push-and-pull. Editor: That push-and-pull is definitely there. So you see that as the key to understanding the piece, rather than the forms themselves? They almost look architectural, like distorted buildings. Curator: Architecture, perhaps suggested, but ultimately subsumed by the overarching formal structure. Look at the way Bunce uses line, not to delineate objects realistically, but to construct a visual field of interacting forces. Is it line as signifier or line as pure form? Editor: So the title "Untitled" reinforces that reading? It steers us away from trying to find a specific subject. Curator: Precisely. Bunce invites us to engage with the artwork on a purely visual level, to appreciate the interplay of form, line, and texture without the imposition of narrative. Note too how the linear strata establish structure, then begin to break that established structure using abstraction and negative space. It is an intentional semiotic rejection. Editor: I never thought of it that way. Now I'm seeing the overall effect as more of a visual experience than a representation of something. Curator: Exactly, and by freeing ourselves from representational expectations, we open ourselves to a richer appreciation of Bunce's artistic language. It’s fascinating to delve into visual experience!