Chinese Limodorum 1984

Jim Dine made this print, Chinese Limodorum, with ink on paper. The image is full of suggestive scratching marks that give the plant a shadowy kind of presence. Looking closely, I see how the texture comes from a web of overlapping lines. In the background the lines are all very loose and atmospheric. With the flower itself, the marks become darker and more compact. The plant is built up from the paper in layers of black ink, which creates a wonderful sense of depth and form. Look closely and you can almost feel the scratch of the etching tool on the copper plate. It reminds me of Jasper Johns's early grey paintings in that way, and the way the repeated markmaking gives an all-over quality to the work. Rather than trying to represent the flower, Dine is almost building it. In the end, it's not just a picture of a plant, but the record of an action. It's Jim Dine wrestling with the image, and us the viewer, witnessing the act.