Jasper Johns: More Than the Sum Jasper Johns stated, “I think a painting should include more experience than simply intended statement” (Gershman, 2014). This stated goal for his own art allowed Johns to become and influential and celebrated artist. The people embraced his vision in art exhibits across the country. His influence in the cultural world of the era of the 1960s brought him fortune and notoriety and his contribute to the art world is still felt today. Johns calls viewers of his art to look beneath the veneer and feel the many aspects that make up what they see.
Contributions and Influence Jasper Johns effectives countered his predecessors of the Abstract Expressionism with a realism and depth to his work. The art movement known as Abstract Expressionism contained paintings that had no recognizable content in them at all (Art Beyond Sight, n.d.). This style left much to the imagination and often viewers of the piece were left without an understanding what the artist
…show more content…
Johns created a bridge between the more complex Abstract Expressionism movement and the Pop Art scene of the 60s (Art Beyond Sight, n.d.). His use of the common and familiar was an influence on wildly popular artists like Warhol and Lichtenstein, who’s art was a significate part of the history of the 60s Counterculture (Gershman, 2014). His goal of encouraging people to not take anything at face value, for example, his piece Flag which is the American flag rethought asks people to look at something they have seen over and over in their life and really see it with deeper meaning (Cristin, n.d.). Art was a way of reaching the masses who might not understand what they were seeing and Johns knew that by reaching them, he could inspire them to deeper thoughts and