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Jasper Johns' Flag: Beyond Realism and Abstraction

Year 2020, Issue: 24, 1 - 11, 24.07.2020
https://doi.org/10.17484/yedi.680024

Abstract

Jasper Johns is one of the most provocative American artists of the twentieth century who has shaped the perception of art and has influenced generations of artists. This paper examines one of his most important works, Flag (1955), regarding it as a work defying easy categorizations as either a realist or an abstract work. Without being identified as either kind, it nevertheless displays certain traits of both. As for its suggestion of realism, the work comes up as a response to its political, cultural and artistic context, challenging Cold War aesthetics; albeit in a mocking manner. Its ridicule is evident in its allusion to the concept of ideology via its ‘kitschy’ subject matter whilst its delicately painted surface exhibits brushstrokes reminiscent of abstract expressionism. Yet the work also confronts presumptions of abstract expressionists by drawing attention to their implicit conventionalism despite their claims for authenticity and uniqueness. It will be argued that by calling the notion of identity in question, the work suspends and surpasses neat categories and sparks even further controversy by hinting at postmodern art and evoking ready-mades simultaneously.

References

  • Benjamin, A. (1996). What is Abstraction? London: Academy Group Ltd. Bernstein, R. (1985). Jasper Johns Paintings and Sculptures 1954-1974: “The Changing Focus of the Eye”. Michigan: UMI Research Press.
  • Bürger, P. (1984). Theory of the Avant-Garde. (Trans. Michael Shaw), Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
  • Castleman, R. (1986). Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective. New York: The Museum of Modern Art.
  • Crichton, M. Jasper Johns. (1976). New York: Thames and Hudson.
  • Foster, H. (1983). The Expressive Fallacy. Art in America, January, 80-83.
  • Greenberg, C. (1940). Towards a Newer Laocoon. In Charles Harrison and Paul Wood (Eds.), Art in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas (p. 562-568), Oxford: Blackwell.
  • Hoffman, W. (1975). Marcel Duchamp and Emblematic Realism. In Joseph Masheck (Ed.), Marcel Duchamp in Perspective (p. 53-66), New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
  • Hopkins, D. (2000). After Modern Art: 1945-2000. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Johns, J. (1955). Flag [Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric]. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78805.
  • - (1955). Flag detail [Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric]. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/profzucker/8491292686.
  • - (1955). White flag [Encaustic and collage on canvas]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/renzodionigi/3819713483/.
  • - (1958). Three flags [Encaustic on canvas]. Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Bourton Tremaine, Meriden, Connecticut. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.art.com/products/p10296577927-sa-i5934847/jasper-johns-three-flags.htm.
  • - (1955). Flag above white with collage [Encaustic and collage on canvas]. Collection of the artist, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.artchive.com/artchive/J/johns/flagwhit.jpg.html.
  • - (1959). False start [Oil on canvas]. Private collection, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.art-mine.com/collectorscorner/art-prices-collectors/false-start-1959-jasper-johns/.
  • - (1961). By the sea. [Encaustic and collage on canvas]. Private collection, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/cone/cone2-16-07_detail.asp?picnum=6.
  • - (1962). Fool’s house. [Oil on canvas with objects]. Collection of Leo Castelli, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.leninimports.com/jasper_johns_gallery_1.html/.
  • - (1959). Jubilee. [Oil and collage on canvas]. Collection of David H. Steinmetz, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/saltz2-25-08_detail.asp?picnum=3.
  • - (1964). According to what. [Oil on canvas with objects]. Private Collection, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/cone/cone2-16-07_detail.asp?picnum=14.
  • Lyotard, J. F. (1989). The Sublime and the Avant-Garde. In Andrew Benjamin (Ed.), The Lyotard Reader (p. 196-211), Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
  • Mitchell, W. J. T. (1994). Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
  • Orton, F. (1994). Figuring Jasper Johns. Massachusettes: Harvard University Press.
  • Steinberg, L. (1972). Other Criteria: Confrontations with Twentieth-Century Art. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Summers, D. (1996). Representation. In Robert S. Nelson and Richard Shiff (Eds.), Critical Terms for Art History (p. 3-19), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Wallace, I. (2002). From Painting’s Death to the Death in Painting: or, what jasper johns found in marcel duchamp’s tu m’ / tomb. Angelaki, Vol. 7, No:1, April, p. 133-156.

Jasper Johns'un Flag'i / Bayrak'ı: Realizm ve Soyutun Ötesinde

Year 2020, Issue: 24, 1 - 11, 24.07.2020
https://doi.org/10.17484/yedi.680024

Abstract

Jasper Johns, yerleşik sanat algısını değiştirip şekillendirerek kendisinden sonra gelen birkaç kuşak sanatçıyı etkileyen yirminci yüzyılın en kışkırtıcı Amerikalı sanatçılardan biridir. Bu çalışma O’nun en önemli işlerinden biri olan Flag (1955) / Bayrak (1955)’ı gerçekçi ya da soyut gibi kaba kategorilerin ötesinde bir eser olarak inceler. Tamamen özdeşleşmemekle birlikte, eser her iki ekolden de özellikler taşır. Döneme hükmeden Soğuk Savaş estetiğine meydan okuyarak, eserin içinde bulunduğu dönemin siyasi, kültürel ve sanatsal bağlamına bir tepki olarak ortaya çıkması göz önünde bulundurulunca, eserin alaycı bir şekilde bile olsa gerçekçi bir iddiası olduğu düşünülebilir. Bu alaycı tavır özellikle soyut dışavurumculuğu çağrıştıran fırça darbeleriyle özenli bir biçimde boyanmış yüzeyinin aslında konu olarak bayrak gibi ideoloji kavramının en ‘kiç’ ifadesini kullanmasında kendisini gösterir. Ancak eser bir taraftan da tüm özgünlük ve biriciklik iddialarına karşın soyut dışavurumcuların da gelenekçi ön kabullerini ifşa eder. Bu çalışmada, öncelikle eserin kimlik temasını sorgulayarak kolaycı kategorileri askıya alıp bunları adeta geçersiz kıldığı, sonrasında ise eserin aynı anda hem postmodern sanatı hem de hazır-yapım çalışmaları anımsattığı savunulacaktır.

References

  • Benjamin, A. (1996). What is Abstraction? London: Academy Group Ltd. Bernstein, R. (1985). Jasper Johns Paintings and Sculptures 1954-1974: “The Changing Focus of the Eye”. Michigan: UMI Research Press.
  • Bürger, P. (1984). Theory of the Avant-Garde. (Trans. Michael Shaw), Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
  • Castleman, R. (1986). Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective. New York: The Museum of Modern Art.
  • Crichton, M. Jasper Johns. (1976). New York: Thames and Hudson.
  • Foster, H. (1983). The Expressive Fallacy. Art in America, January, 80-83.
  • Greenberg, C. (1940). Towards a Newer Laocoon. In Charles Harrison and Paul Wood (Eds.), Art in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas (p. 562-568), Oxford: Blackwell.
  • Hoffman, W. (1975). Marcel Duchamp and Emblematic Realism. In Joseph Masheck (Ed.), Marcel Duchamp in Perspective (p. 53-66), New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
  • Hopkins, D. (2000). After Modern Art: 1945-2000. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Johns, J. (1955). Flag [Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric]. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78805.
  • - (1955). Flag detail [Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric]. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/profzucker/8491292686.
  • - (1955). White flag [Encaustic and collage on canvas]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/renzodionigi/3819713483/.
  • - (1958). Three flags [Encaustic on canvas]. Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Bourton Tremaine, Meriden, Connecticut. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.art.com/products/p10296577927-sa-i5934847/jasper-johns-three-flags.htm.
  • - (1955). Flag above white with collage [Encaustic and collage on canvas]. Collection of the artist, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.artchive.com/artchive/J/johns/flagwhit.jpg.html.
  • - (1959). False start [Oil on canvas]. Private collection, New York. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.art-mine.com/collectorscorner/art-prices-collectors/false-start-1959-jasper-johns/.
  • - (1961). By the sea. [Encaustic and collage on canvas]. Private collection, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/cone/cone2-16-07_detail.asp?picnum=6.
  • - (1962). Fool’s house. [Oil on canvas with objects]. Collection of Leo Castelli, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.leninimports.com/jasper_johns_gallery_1.html/.
  • - (1959). Jubilee. [Oil and collage on canvas]. Collection of David H. Steinmetz, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/saltz2-25-08_detail.asp?picnum=3.
  • - (1964). According to what. [Oil on canvas with objects]. Private Collection, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/cone/cone2-16-07_detail.asp?picnum=14.
  • Lyotard, J. F. (1989). The Sublime and the Avant-Garde. In Andrew Benjamin (Ed.), The Lyotard Reader (p. 196-211), Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
  • Mitchell, W. J. T. (1994). Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
  • Orton, F. (1994). Figuring Jasper Johns. Massachusettes: Harvard University Press.
  • Steinberg, L. (1972). Other Criteria: Confrontations with Twentieth-Century Art. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Summers, D. (1996). Representation. In Robert S. Nelson and Richard Shiff (Eds.), Critical Terms for Art History (p. 3-19), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Wallace, I. (2002). From Painting’s Death to the Death in Painting: or, what jasper johns found in marcel duchamp’s tu m’ / tomb. Angelaki, Vol. 7, No:1, April, p. 133-156.
There are 24 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Araştırma Makaleler
Authors

Başak Keki 0000-0003-2461-1853

Publication Date July 24, 2020
Submission Date January 25, 2020
Acceptance Date April 13, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Issue: 24

Cite

APA Keki, B. (2020). Jasper Johns’ Flag: Beyond Realism and Abstraction. Yedi(24), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.17484/yedi.680024

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