Go Sergio Go

from the Mirror Series by Roy Lichtenstein

1972, color lithograph and screenprint on paper, 33.25” x 33.25”  
Number 45 from an edition of 75 published by the artist and printed by Styria Studio 

I got to sneak into Lichtenstein’s Retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the selections from the Mirror Series where the most memorable pieces. It seemed to be one of the few instances in which the mirror itself is the subject of an artwork, rather than just a tool. 

Whenever I see a mirror in a work of art, it seems to act more like a prop. Whether formally or metaphorically, the mirror always reflects, transforms or distorts the real subject of the work — or whatever happens to be in front of it. Mirrors can also be used to create a richer narrative by revealing more information about the scene (e.g. Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère or Diego Velázques’ Las Meninas). 

In those cases, the mirrors and depictions aid the subject of the work and while important and sometimes necessary, they are not really central to the work. It is not about the mirror and the fact that it is there, but rather about what it reveals about the scene or contributes to the story through its reflection. And that’s the challenge: how do you depict an object that when gazed upon only reveals its surroundings — or worse, it stares back at you with your same features, your same eyes (one could argue that most self-portraits are really paintings of mirrors).

Walking into Lichtenstein’s hall of mirrors felt like… well, walking into a real hall of mirrors. I soon forgot they were only ink on paper. They felt so real, I wouldn’t have been surprised if all of a sudden my own reflection gazed back at me — even if rendered in halftone. 

Although highly stylized and sometimes abstracted, the work really captures a certain mirrorness, if you will. They seem to behave like mirrors, yet they do not reflect anything beyond themselves. They exist in a space between the space within the work  and the space in the gallery, and the mirrors do not reflect either. They stare back, blankly, in their own space.

To play devil’s advocate I could add that perhaps the mirrors in Lichtenstein’s series do address the space in which they exist. They exist in a place inhabited by light — and the mirrors are reflecting this light, its patterns and gradations. But then isn’t most if not all painting — with perhaps the exception of abstract art — about light?

image via iCollector

View in high-resolution