Jasper Johns Gravures Dessins, 1992JASPER JOHNS. ENGRAVINGS AND DRAWINGS FROM THE CASTELLI COLLECTION 1960-1991ASIN : B0057XZ56EEditions Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, Arles. 1992162 pagesBilingual French / English text by Marcelin Pleynet, Michel Butor, Kathleen Slavin, Illustrated with numerous photographic reproductions, black & white and colors, of works by Jasper Johns followed by 9 black & white portraits of the artist by Hans Namuth. Book produced as part of the eponymous exhibition at the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation, Palais de Luppé, Arles, from July 4 to September 30, 1992. "Jasper Johns is one of the greats, undeniably one of the greatest American artists alive today. Alternately linked to neo-Dadaism and Pop Art, the work of Jasper Johns is nevertheless clearly and singularly distinct from any other. To a question from Ann Hindry on the origins of her art: "Did you know the abstract expressionists better, were you deliberately trying to end their central question, the flatness of the painting?" Jasper Johns answers: "No. In my opinion, they did what they did on their side, and I did what I did on mine. I didn't see any confrontation or opposition..." Jasper Johns' independence was immediate and, if I may say so, radical... In 1965, Johns insisted to David Sylvester: "I want painting to be a thing watchable... I don't think it's a goal to make something worth looking at, but I think that the perception of the object comes through looking and thinking. I think that if we give it meaning, it is through the very act of looking…” Extract from “Jasper Jonhs. Painting as a target” by Marcelin Pleynet.
