Jasper Johns essays

Jasper Johns essays Born on May 15, 1930 in Augusta Georgia, Jasper Johns is one of the most renowned American pop artists of his era. He spent much of his early life stationed in Japan with the United States Army. Later, he became a student at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Johns first major piece was a painting he did in 1954 entitled Flag (Jasper Johns 1). It is simply a reproduction of the American flag on canvas. Much of his early work was of plain, flat symbols. He did so because he found that he did not have to design them...they were things the mind already knows. That gave [him] room to work on other levels (Crichton 1). The painting to be discussed in this paper is one of his simple works as mentioned above. It is entitled Target with Four Faces, and it was completed in 1955. Target with Four Faces is mainly a design piece. It is made up of sharp curves and lines. Most of the lines are thick, others are horizontal as well. The circles of the target in the lower half are practically perfect around. He uses several shapes in his work, including rectangles and squares (in the plaster faces up top) and circles (in the target). The color group used in Target with Four Faces is that of the triadic group, specifically the primary colors. The target and the background are made up of solid reds, yellows, and blues. Various surfaces can be found in Jasper Johns piece. The canvas used gives it somewhat of a rough texture, while the wood towards the top give it a smooth texture. The only objects seen in this work other than the main target are the plaster faces lined up at the top of the canvas. Other than those, there really are no other objects. With the basic facts represented, the next thing to look at is the design of Target with Four Faces. Since it is a simple piece, it has symmetrical balance for the most part. The four faces at the top are symmetrical, a ...