Girl Crazy National Gallery Surveys de Kooningís Drawings of Women by Gary Tischler The last time the National Gallery of Art had a major exhibition of Willem de Kooningís work, the artist was still alive but not active. That was in 1994, when the National Gallery presented a generous survey of the master abstract expressionistís paintings, including a number of his rough, dangerous female figures that still held the power to infuriate, intimidate and create a buzz. De Kooning has since passed away, but in a new exhibition at the National Galleryís East Building, he looms more active than ever, and here the women have marched front and center. In ìWillem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure,î the subjects are entirely womenóand they are a mean, loud, full-of-fury, excitable, brassy, bigger-than-life, beautiful bunch of women, the kind only de Kooning could have dreamed about, seen and rendered. This is a vivid group of works, but for all that they are simply called drawings. They may as well be paintings, however, for they have that hypnotic power of painting, full of color and thick strokes. All of that is no accident because de Kooning worked hard to blur the lines be tween drawing and painting, and here you have, among other things, graphite, charcoal, pastels and oil on paper. Unlike many of the abstract impressionists to whom he is linked, de Kooning tiptoed on the edge of pure abstraction but never dove in. He was a furious sort of painter, with some resemblance to Jackson Pollock but with a lot more discipline and thematic focus. He worked as if possessed at times, living like a fiend in the momentóto the point that some of the works in this exhibition were said to have been done with his eyes closed to achieve a certain kinetic force. His paintings, and therefore these drawings, had a powerful effect on the viewer. You have that sense that if you turn away from them, those figures and those lines will change, that theyíre actively conspiring toward more movement behind your back. Many women, and male critics as well, saw these portraits of womenówith their savage, sharpened bare teeth, their hard, big breasts, and their thick, threatening linesóas misogynist, that somehow de Kooning was a macho man who felt threatened by women. De Kooning never explicitly expressed his feelings on the matteróthat was for other folks to figure out. What he did say was, ìI canít get away from the woman. Wherever I look, I find her.î De Kooning was never sure what this female fascination was all about, and that to him meant nobody else could be either. ìI will never know, and no one else will ever knowÖ. Thatís the way art is.î For sure, the works have violent elements, but itís a force-of-nature kind of thing: You wonít find a simpering, victimized, helpless figure in the lot. But there is certainly a lot of struggle and movement going on. Even supine or at rest, the figures remain potent, restless, ready to do damage or escape the frame. Most of the drawings come from the late 1940s and 1950s, when the artist was working toward his iconic paintings. Every single one of the works in the exhibition has real power, and every one of them practically screams, ìLook at me.î These are, as one critic described them, ìbeauty-fiends,î but critics and art historians have written themselves out on this subject. There is no denying their energy, pull or strength. Words just fall on them, however, like confettiónothing of that sort sticks. Are they vulgar? Yes, much like a wrestling match is vulgar or the power of attraction is vulgar. Many of the works seen here are highly detailed, with swirling, thick lines, a clean, looping buttock, little fingers, hobgoblin eyes, and a cave of a belly button in two figures from 1952, for instance. Sometimes, these women seem like haunting, ghost-like accusatory figures seen from the vantage point of a moving train. But they seem not quite done, and not just because theyíre drawings. De Kooningís paintings have that same qualityóthey could change. ìIím not interested in finishing,î he once said. This exhibition isnít a punctuation mark on de Kooningís work, but itís an absolutely necessary addendum. ìWillem de Kooning: Tracing the Figureî runs through Jan. 5 at the National Gallery of Art, 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue, NW. For more information, please call (202) 737-4215 or visit www.nga.gov. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer to The Washington Diplomat.