John Jasper's Review

Title: Jasper Johns Shows His True Color
By: Roberta Smith
Source: The New York Times
Date of Article: February 8, 2008

The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and various other museums are home to the vast, analytical, even over analyzed artwork for the artist named Jasper Johns. His artwork is a collection of developing pieces that display his artwork growing from the abstract expressionism to his persistence in displaying a new less predictable side of artwork.

Jasper John was interviewed and explained himself as “a very literal artist,” also stating that he is not the best colorist. However, his efforts and his own style of coloring and expressionism say otherwise. An example of this was a piece from 1995 entitled “Targets with four faces.” Another piece that displays his efforts with color is his piece called “False Start” which is a piece that engages in the various colors of red, yellow, blue, and white. “False start” not only displays these colors but also tangle the names of the colors on each color. Where as in contrast, the piece entitled “Jubilee,” is the same idea except that it contrast different shades of white, black and gray.

Some critics have called Jasper Johns artwork “repetitious.” However, the repetitious move towards exploring the use of gray is by far and undoubtedly are the ingredients that Jasper Johns work needs including diverse and display’s the attention to certain detail is needed.