Showcasing a newly acquired series of thirteen compositions by American master Jasper Johns, the exhibition is a notable instalment in the Focus program, an ongoing series of small, intimate shows designed to shine a concentrated light on specific aspects of particular oeuvres, artists, movements or techniques. First instituted in 2006, MoMA Focus topics have included Paul Klee; Ad Reinhardt and Mark Rothko; Picasso sculpture; Sol LeWitt; and Alexander Calder.
Jasper Johns Collection
Focus: Jasper Johns celebrates the acquisition of the Untitled, 2001 series, thirteen thematically-linked works on paper developed from two earlier rejected prints reworked in a variety of methods, including collage, painting and hand-drawing. Complementing and supporting the series are 85 works assembled from MoMA’s extensive Jasper Johns collection. The works span the decades – as well as the media and themes – of the artist’s career, specifically exploring his development of formal practice and processes emphasising series, sets and repetition. In this way, the exhibition seeks to contextualise Untitled, 2001 in a tightly focused and immediate manner.
Jasper Johns was a pioneer in the use of printmaking to explore and extend variation in his artwork, and the practice has had monumental impact on his oeuvre beyond mere technique. “Just the process of printmaking allows you to do things that make your mind work in a different way,” Johns is quoted as remarking in the exhibition introduction.
Evolution of American Art
Johns, who along with his friend and colleague Robert Rauschenberg was instrumental in the 1960s evolution of American art between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, is perhaps best known for his repetitious representations of the American flag, as well as his recurrent use of typeset numerals. Both motifs are exhibited to great effect in Focus: Jasper Johns, contributing to a deeper understanding of the artist’s creative process.
Particularly illuminating is a series of hand-corrected lithographic trial proofs showing the metamorphosis from Flags (1968) to Flags II (1970). Johns’ recurring use of a repertoire of images is also highlighted in Savarin 5 (Corpse and Mirror) (1978), derived from his Painted Bronze (Savarin) sculpture of 1960, and more intricately in pieces from The Seasons cycle of the 1980s.
One element of Untitled, 2001 that particularly stands out among the collection of referential images is the geometric "catenary" – the shape of a line suspended by two points, in which gravity produces an elegant mathematical curve. Symbolic of both Johns’ intellectually rigorous formal system and simple aesthetic elegance, the catenary is a fitting emblem of this mature series of variations on a theme.
Focus: Jasper Johns is on show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York until February 16, 2009.
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