Finger Pointing 1973

Roy Lichtenstein made this 'Finger Pointing' sometime in his career using his signature bold lines and Ben-Day dots. It's like he’s saying, “Hey, look at this, art can be mass-produced and still pack a punch!” The materiality is so clean, so flat. No gloppy brushstrokes here! The color is solid and the dots are uniform. It’s like he’s hiding the hand, making it about the idea more than the touch, and that, in itself, is a kind of touch. Check out the way the red ground bleeds through the halftone dots that make up the pointing hand. It's a subtle vibration in the color, softening the intensity of the gesture. It’s like the hand is not just pointing but almost caressing the space. There's something about it that reminds me of Ellsworth Kelly. They both have this way of taking something mundane and turning it into something iconic, something unforgettable. Art is always a conversation, right?