Film
Julian Opie is one of Britain's most popular artists. He likes to observe things in the simplest possible way and render them as such. In his works, people are often reduced to little more than a few lines and dots. He once asked a pole dancer to draw one hundred different poses; on the page, the dancer became nothing more than a handful of elegant curves.
This 2017 Julian Opie film introduces his reduction of figures and movement: dots and lines describe the body, while a few curves preserve a dancer’s pose and sense of motion. Attention shifts toward silhouette and bodily gesture rather than detailed facial description. A related feature explores Opie’s urban figures, while an interview with Wu Shan offers another perspective on line and form in painting.
Julian Opie is one of Britain's most popular artists. He likes to observe things in the simplest possible way and render them as such. In his works, people are often reduced to little more than a few lines and dots. He once asked a pole dancer to draw one hundred different poses; on the page, the dancer became nothing more than a handful of elegant curves.