Study for right panel of "Cow Triptych (Cow Going Abstract)" 1974

Editor: So, this is Roy Lichtenstein’s “Study for right panel of Cow Triptych (Cow Going Abstract),” from 1974. It's a colored pencil, graphite, and ink drawing on paper. The composition is so geometric and stark... It’s definitely an unexpected move, even for Pop Art. I’m intrigued by its seeming simplicity. What do you make of it? Curator: Ah, yes. You see how he's dismantling the very idea of "cow," piece by piece? Each plane, each line – it's almost brutal in its dissection. Do you get a sense of humour from it? For me, it’s playful and deadly serious at the same time, a wry commentary on how we perceive reality. A bit like a Picasso bull morphing through minimalist plains in that final print. Editor: I see what you mean... It's almost as if he’s reducing the essence of "cow-ness" to pure form and color, pushing abstraction to its absolute limit. Is it a commentary on the nature of representation itself, rather than just a picture of a cow going abstract? Curator: Precisely! What would Warhol have said, eh? What is real? Where does "cow" end and "abstraction" begin? Think of those deceptively simple lines—how deliberate and thought-through! This drawing isn't just about the death of the cow, it’s about the exhilarating freedom of breaking everything apart and then reassembling them differently. It’s quite magical, actually! Editor: Definitely food for thought! Thanks for your insights. It's shifted how I'm viewing this work completely. I think it reveals how we always categorize reality into simple boxes. Curator: My pleasure. I'm happy if it stirred something new for you. Because, after all, that is what this art should be doing: starting conversations, or perhaps internal debates… like an argument with your favourite, slightly annoying, friend.