Jasper Johns
Born: Augusta, USA 1930.
Jasper Johns is widely recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the post-war period. Following in the wake of the gestural but largely empty passions of the Abstract Expressionists, the simplicity of Johns' comparatively reductive art made a startling contrast. Johns settled in New York City in 1952 and met fellow artist Rauschenberg shortly after. Rather than focus on the vitality of popular culture, Johns exploited the banality of it, declaring "take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it." These favourite motifs were the universally familiar symbol of flags, targets, letters and numbers. Turning these into art, he provoked the viewer into considering the things the mind already knows in a different way, while highlighting the methods by which he turns objects into artifice. The enigmatic device exemplifies Johns' techniques, which are rendered as signs and language in themselves. He is an exceptionally proficient painter and graphic artist, a master of a variety of media. His more recent work has increased in thematic and conceptual complexity, with an emphasis on more personal references.
Masterpieces:
Zero through nine.
Zone
Device.
text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Images: google images.