Reverie 1965

Roy Lichtenstein made this print, Reverie, using silkscreen, a technique that’s all about flat color and graphic punch. Look at the way he builds the image with those Ben-Day dots, like a comic book blown up, but so much more knowing. The dots create texture, sure, but they also flatten everything out. It’s like he's saying, "Hey, this is a picture, not reality." And the colors! Bold, primary, unapologetic. Take the blue background, solid as a wall, pushing the blonde, lost in thought, forward. The black lines that define her features are so precise, so clean, like a graphic design. Her bright yellow hair is like a solid shape, not strands of hair, and the text bubble with it's melody line is just perfect. Lichtenstein was playing with pop culture, yes, but he was also having a conversation with painters like Leger who were interested in popular forms. It’s all surface, all style, and yet, it gets under your skin, doesn't it?