Richard I 1967

Curator: Harold Cohen's "Richard I" offers a fascinating case study in the deconstruction of portraiture. Editor: The sharp yellows and purples give an unsettling pop aesthetic—it feels almost digitized, as if something is being processed or breaking down. Curator: Precisely. The Ben-Day dots create a field of visual information, but do they clarify or obscure the subject? Is it representation or abstraction? Editor: Given the subject, could this be an exploration of power diluted by the very systems that uphold it? The dots, like data points, reducing a king to an algorithm. Curator: A compelling reading! The materiality and its form could be a commentary on modern media's impact on historical memory. Editor: Indeed. It's a dialogue between past iconography and the digital present. Curator: A fitting endnote on our consideration of Cohen's work.