Shipboard Girl: Separation Drawing for Blue 1965

This is "Shipboard Girl: Separation Drawing for Blue" by Roy Lichtenstein. With his characteristic use of Ben-Day dots, Lichtenstein appropriates and abstracts an image of a woman, reflecting the male gaze dominant in mid-20th century American pop culture. This work, a preparatory drawing, unveils the labor and process behind Lichtenstein's seemingly mass-produced aesthetic. The dots, mimicking the printing process, ironically highlight the mechanization of image production while also referencing the comic book origins of his style. Consider how Lichtenstein’s work, while seemingly detached, touches on the emotional and social realities of its time. The source image is a shipboard girl. This is a reference to ideas of women being left behind during times of war. This sense of isolation and distance is implicit in the work.