Untitled [seated female nude with open shirt] 1955 - 1967

Curator: This drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, dating from somewhere between 1955 and 1967, is called "Untitled [seated female nude with open shirt]." It immediately strikes me by its use of line. Editor: Yes, that dark charcoal line has a real weight to it, hasn’t it? It almost feels sculptural. And the paper itself looks like it's taken a bit of a beating—it has a used quality about it that emphasizes the material nature of art making, that reminds me of Diebenkorn’s process, and that is visible as process and result here. Curator: The line suggests a tentative process. You can see him searching for the right form, almost as if the figure is emerging from memory. Look how the pose is reminiscent of classical reclining nudes, but there's also something vulnerable and contemporary in the way she’s slouched, as though she is not posed but actually at rest. Editor: Right, it subverts the idealized form through process! The open shirt gives a glimpse, hinting at a working class subject removed from the boudoir setting that's typical of canonical painting, and makes visible a connection between artmaking and everyday life that, frankly, intrigues me. What can you say of his decision to leave this piece as simply titled "untitled?" Curator: By withholding a title, Diebenkorn invites the viewer to bring their own associations, their own narratives to the work, almost suggesting there isn't a specific message, but that she’s a more universal symbol perhaps. Editor: I think that's a point. The lack of clear intention almost serves to reveal something about his process—Diebenkorn seems less concerned with conveying a fixed meaning and more interested in allowing us to engage with the raw act of creation. I'm particularly drawn to the social dimension, and for me it lies in a modern image stripped back to simple strokes! Curator: So it's in seeing those traces, the materiality of the process, that meaning arises for you. Fascinating! Editor: Exactly. Well, this encounter has offered such a sharp insight into Diebenkorn’s labor and Diebenkorn’s life through drawing; thank you. Curator: My pleasure—seeing Diebenkorn at work behind his work only highlights for me the continuity of humanity behind symbols throughout art history.