Untitled

Untitled

Charles Gaines

1978

ink

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This is a woman’s face in three versions. On the left, a simple black-and-white photo shows her looking straight ahead, with short dark hair and a plain collar. The middle and right images turn that photo into a grid of tiny lines, almost like a puzzle, then slowly build back into her face using just ink lines. The middle version hides her features under a dense web of lines, while the right one lets them reappear. It’s like watching a face emerge from shadows. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists use lines to create light and form.

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