Untitled

Untitled

Raymond Pettibon

1982

graphite

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This drawing is all black ink and white paper. Two people are tangled in a messy fight—one on top, arms flailing, the other on the bottom, legs kicking. Around them, jagged lines look like fire or smoke, swirling up to the top of the page. At the top, there’s a short, angry poem written in uneven letters. The artist used lots of tiny parallel lines to build up dark shapes. It’s not just shading—it’s a way to make things feel chaotic and intense. Try looking up cross-hatching to see how this technique works in other art.

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