Untitled [two studies of a model] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a model, with charcoal on paper, at an undetermined date. It's really two studies in one! Look at the way Diebenkorn lays down these marks, the hatching and cross-hatching, a kind of searching and tentative line. The ghostlike presence of the first study almost feels like a memory, or a shadow of a thought. There's a beautiful tension between the areas of dense, dark charcoal and the lighter, more delicate lines that define the form. The texture of the paper plays a huge role here, too. It's not smooth, but slightly toothy, which grabs onto the charcoal and creates a kind of visual buzz. Notice the way the charcoal almost vibrates against the surface. It feels like Diebenkorn is wrestling with the form, trying to pin it down, but also allowing it to breathe. This reminds me of Willem de Kooning, and how he also seemed to be in a constant state of questioning and revising. Ultimately, drawing, like art, is a conversation, and like conversations, there are no fixed meanings, only possibilities.