Jasper Johns
Past Things and Present: Jasper Johns since 1983
Irish Museum of Modern Art
through April 24, 2005
Georgia native Jasper Johns is one of the finest icons of the American
modern art scene. Early in his career he became known for his series of
flags, first in 1954 with Flag.
Johns often depicted "things we already know" in an increasing number of
collective themed works such as paint brushes, coat hangers and more flags
throughout the 1950s.
Artists grow with their times and Johns wasn't different in
experimenting with new techniques. The exhibit, comprised of 90 paintings,
drawings and prints are during the period Johns moved away from flags and
other symbols to these intensely personal, even surreal, images.
Jasper Johns explained his transformation in 1984, "In my
early work I tried to hide my personality, my psychological state, my
emotion."
Adding, "I sort of stuck to my guns for a while, but eventually it seemed
like a losing battle. Finally, one must simply drop the reserve."
The exhibit is fortunate to include nearly all Jasper Johns' prints made during
the period. Visitors will enjoy some works based on Ventriloquist of 1983
and Winter, 1986 from The Seasons (1985-1986)
A Jasper Johns retrospective without a flag based work
would seem lacking somehow. The exhibit includes an Untitled work of
2000 with a flag draped background.
The artist began using traced outlines
of noted works by Holbein and Grūnewald and this
is found in several objects in Past Things and Present.
This is the first major Jasper Johns exhibit in Ireland, hopefully not
the last, showcasing the talents of the American icon.
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