Artist

Jasper Johns

Nationality

American

Artist Dates

b. 1930

Preview

image preview

Date of Work

1973

Medium

Four-color lithograph printed in color on Arches paper

Edition #

71/100

Signature

Lower right

Height

27 1/4" (framed)

Width

19 7/8" (framed)

Collection/Provenance

Published by The Committee to Endow a Chair in Honor of Meyer Schapiro (1904-1996) at Columbia University.

Art & Design Study Collection

Status

Stored: R25

Location

UND Art Collections Repository

Artist Bio

Jasper Johns is an important American artist, who was associated with an art movement that is called neo-dada. During the 1950s his art often incorporated found objects.

Johns also collaborated with neo-dadaist painter Robert Rauschenberg, dance choreographer Merce Cunningham, and music composer John Cage on interdisciplinary performances.

Additional Information

Jasper Johns (b. 1930) was interested in fussing art with aspects of popular culture. To achieve this objective, he produced series of paintings representing targets, the American flag, and other subjects appropriated from "real life." Like Robert Rauschenberg, Johns can be described as a Neo-Dadaist.

The artist introduced the subject of the target in his art beginning in the mid 1950s. One question that may arise when looking at Johns’ image is whether to perceived it as a representation (that is, as a picture of an actual target) or as a pure abstraction. If the former, then it is not too unlike subject found in Warhol's Pop Art; but if the latter, it may be better understood more along the lines of Abstract Expressionism. The artist has never provided a clear guideline for his viewers to follow in regard to his work's meaning.

This artwork is from a portfolio of original prints published in recognition of Meyer Schapiro (1904-1996), a distinguished art historian who was very much appreciated by major contemporary artists of his day.

In 1974, a committee was formed to establish a Chair in Art History at Columbia University in Schapiro's honor. The portfolio, published in an edition of 100, was produced to raise funds to support the Chair. UND’s set of portfolio prints are numbered 71/100.

Condition

Excellent

Rights

Images are provided for educational purposes only and may not be reproduced for commercial use. Images may be protected by artist copyright. A credit line is required to be used for any public non-commercial educational purpose. The credit line must include, “Image courtesy of the University of North Dakota.”

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