Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker associated with Abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and Pop art according to Wikipedia. He was influenced by Robert Rauschenberg, Pablo Picasso, and many others. 

Sculptures

"The Critic Smiles" (1959)

What's outstanding about this sculpture was that instead of sculpting the bristles on the toothbrush, John sculpted teeth. 

"The Critic Sees" (1961)

This sculpture surprised me. At first glance you just see a pair of glasses but at a closer inspection you see mouth for eyes. The critic sees through their mouth. 

You can already tell by looking at these sculptures that John didn't liked people criticizing his art without fully understanding the story behind it.  

"Light Bulb" (1960)

All I can say about this sculpture is that it seemed that John wanted or had new ideas, thoughts or inspiration. 

"Flash Light 1" (1958)

"Painted Bronze" (1960)

Fun Fact

"He never became, in historical terms, a mainstream artist, never joined the parade that sprang up after him in the early 1960s. He didn’t align his work with either Pop Art or Minimalism. And he certainly didn’t join any of the clubs associated with a style, technique or subject. Instead he went his own way and, more to the point, he exposed what he thought of critics in two sculptural objects, “The Critic Smiles” (1959), a well-known work depicting a toothbrush with human teeth instead of bristles, which is included in the exhibition at Craig F. Starr, and “The Critic Sees” (1961), which replaces the critic’s bespectacled eyes with a pair of mouths"- hyperallergic.com

"Sometimes I see it then paint it. Other times I paint it then see it...At every point in nature there is something to see."

-Jasper Johns

I like this quote from him. Describes me in terms when it comes to art.