Jasper Johns: Prints 1970-1977 by Richard S.

Field
Review by: Roberta Bernstein
Art Journal, Vol. 39, No. 4, Command Performance (Summer, 1980), pp. 329+331
Published by: College Art Association
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 CitedbySchardt, FranzMarc,28, and the printsof the sixtiesandthoseof the and reality.Thedrieror morepolished
(slightly andmoreextensively)seventies.
differently Tatayana Grosman's LongIsland qualitywhichFielddiscussesas beingim-
byLankheit, FranzMarc,37.AlsoLevine,workshop,ULAE., whereJohnsfirstbegan portantin theprintsof the1970s,actually
41. makingprintsin 1960andwherehe did becamea significant elementinhispaint-
27 Letter toSophieMaria Marc,17Februarythree-quarters of his printsduringthat ingsandprintsduringthelate1960s.This
1916,Briefe,17. Levine,173,citesan decade,is a small,intimateenvironmenttypeof surfaceis, morethananything else,
extensive butfaultily
translated portionof conduciveto makingindividual worksof a meansJohnsusedtomoveawayfromhis
theletterastheconclusion ofhisbook. high quality.The larger,more techno- ownvirtuosity andfromtheseductiveness
28 FranzMarc,"ZurKritik derVergangen-logically-oriented Gemini G.E.L. in LosAn- of hismorerichlyworkedimages.
heit,"unpubl. ms.written winter 1913- geles, on the otherhand,has sufficient In theseventies,as in thesixties,Johns
14, as citedbyLankheit, 135. resourcesfor producing largegroupsof almostalwaysbaseshisprintson hisown
29 Letterto MariaMarc,14 March1915, relatedprints,andthusis moresuitable paintingsand sculptures.Someare in-
Brefe,39. for makingprintsin series.Duringthe spiredby his mostrecentworks;others,
30 FranzMarc,"Dasgeheime Europa," Das 1970s,Johnsworkedprimarily atGemini, basedon earlierpieces,havea retrospec-
Forum,i, no. 12, 1914-15; and"Im a changethatFieldattributes in partto a tive quality.Fieldconvincingly defends
Fegefeuer desKrieges," VossischeZeitung, new commitment to serialimagery. Johns Johns against those criticswho see his
no.637,15December 1914,2- 3. also becamemoreinterestedin screen- printsas onlycopiesof his paintings by
Acollection ofMarc's numerous writ- printsandaquatints andsoughtoutwork- assertingthatthe printsare "subtleand
ings recentlybecameavailable: Klaus shopsspecializing inthosemediums. Most ingenious mediatranslations" butalsopro-
Lankheit, comp.,FranzMarc: Schriften,of thescreenprints weredoneinNewYork videa "further compression andsymbol-
Cologne, 1978.Hiswartime severelywithprintersfromtheTokyo-based
letters, work- izationof reality" thanoccurin thepaint-
have
edited, appeared in numerous edi- shop Simca and the aquatints in Paris at ings.Indiscussing theseriesoflithographs,
tions (1920, 1938, 1940,1941,1944, AldoCrommelynck Unfortunately, theprints Fragments-According to What(1971),
1948,1959,and 1966),andhis corre- doneat Crommelynck, amongJohns'sfin- he writes:"Thecontentof theselitho-
spondence withAugustMacketoo has estfromthisperiod,areneglected inField's graphs,farmorethantheirpaintedproto-
beenpublished (1964). otherwiseexceptionally thorough essay. type,concernsillusionism.Whereasthe
31 Levine,138ff,arguesthatit is a post- Johns'sprintsofthe1970saregenerally canvasis full of palpablemarks,real
apocalyptic creationMarcdepictsor, morecomplexthanhisearlierones,a fact objects,andoccupiesrealspace,theprints
alternatively, the pre-human phaseof Fieldattributes to anincreased mastery of areemphatically flat.Whereas thepainting
Genesis. thetechniques of printmaking. Mostofthe clearlyembracesa varietyof acts and
majorprintsfromtheseventiesarelitho- materials, theprintsarefarmoresynthetic
graphs,such as DecoyII (1971-73),in and uniform."Fieldalso maintains that
RichardS. Field,JasperJohms:Prints whichas manyas twenty-five platesand theprintsare"arunning, criticalcommen-
1970-1977, exh. cat., Middletown,one stoneareused;theseworksdemon- tary on the paintedoeuvre,"in which
Conn.,WesleyanUniversity Press,1978. strateJohns'sabilityto workwitha grow- Johnsrephrases problems andformulates
Pp. 127;ca. 50 ills. $10. ingnumberof printing elements. Histech- newquestions.
nicalexpertiseis apparent in othermedi- In suggestingreasonsforJohns'sin-
This book and Field'searlierJasper ums as well. Theextraordinary etchings creasinguse of seriesor sets,Fieldsees
Johns Prints, 1960-1970 (Philadelphiaandaquatints ofFizzles(Foimdes)(1975- partof theirpurposeas "explaining" the
Museumof Art, 1970) were writtenas 76), a collaboration withauthorSamuel large,complicated paintings of thesixties
catalogsfor majorexhibitions. Together, Beckett, showanunderstanding andfacility andseventies, includingAccording to Whxt
the publicationscontaindocumentationthatgo muchbeyond FirstEtchings(1967- (1964) and Untitled(1972), which,he
on all ofJohns'sprintsthrough1977and 68). In someof his screenprints, suchas says,havenot receivedmuchcriticalac-
constitute themostthorough examinationFlags (1973) and Target(1974),Johns claimor publiccomprehension. Eachof
to dateof his graphicwork.In eachthe renderseffectsofpainterliness andlayering the series or sets is "a subtlelanguage
textis substantial andtheillustrations are thatareuniquein thatmedium. game,"andJohns'srepetitionof proce-
of highquality,withnumerousfull-page Somecriticsclaim,however,thatthe dures and reworkingof imagesis "an
reproductions in blackandwhiteandin qualityof certainpost-1970works,includ- exploration of processin language rather
color. Theintroductory a
essayspresent ing some of the screenprints and the litho- than an idle variation-on-a-theme." The
creativeanalysisof Johns'sprintsanda graph series from Gemini,is diminished series formatis also an expressivemodein
solid,insightful summary andelaborationby a certaindrynessthatis differentfrom itself,metaphoricallyreflecting"thevaria-
of muchof thepreviousliterature. In his the sensuous, handmadelook of most of bilityand uncertaintyof all experience."
noteson the individual prints,Fieldpro- Johns's earlier work. Field defends this Connectingthe majorthemesofJohns's
videsusefulinformation on thetechnical new stylistictrait,assertingthatit accom- paintingand sculpturewith his printsof
processes.Hehasobviously lookedclosely panies a more contemplativeor analytic the 1970s, Fieldconsidersthe mostimpor-
at Johns'swork and communicates his approachand thatit actuallyenhancesthe tant theme to be the relationbetweenthe
detailed,first-hand knowledge in boththe works by "providingmoreopportunityfor viewer and the work of art. Johns has
essaysandthenotes. the viewerto explorethe interfacebetween alwaysprovokedthe spectatorto become
In the recent essay, the printsare the printas printedobjectandthe printas aware of deeply ingrainedhabitsof per-
groupedbythetypeofworkdoneatthree representation."While I agree that this ception. The prints, because they are in
differentworkshops:printsin series at qualityof drynessis characteristicof some effect translationsof his own images in
GeminiG.E.L.,singleprintsat Universal of the printsof the 1970s, I thinkit should other mediums,make us even more con-
LimitedArtEdition(ULAE.), andscreen- be seen as a continuationof earlier con- scious of the processof perceivinga picto-
printsatSimcaPrintArtists. Thisdivision, cerns rather than as a break or change. rial language. Field writes: "WhatJohns
unlikethe groupingby mediumin the Throughouthis career,Johns has played demandsof us is thatwe understandthe
earlier catalog,effectivelyunderscores off the handmadeandthe mechanicalas a notion of 'seeing oneself seeing'. Being
someoftheimportant differences between way to examine the relationbetweenart awareof our languageswhilewe use them
Summer 1980 329

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is perhapsthemostdifficult function ofthe manistcontextthanpreviously, butnotto sensitivity to and enthusiasm forJohns's
mind;it involvesa higherorderof con- the pointof regardingthemas pathetic art.
sciousnessthanordinaryhabitualuse of symbolsof moderndissociation, isolation, RobertaBernstein,BarnardCollege
language allows." and fragmentation." Without examining
Asecondtheme,"thenature ofmemory, whatthe"humanist context"mightbe, he
reproduction andreplication," is apparent focuseson theformalroleof thecastsand
fromJohns'scontinual reusingandremak- stopsshortof the kindof iconographical
ingof imagesbothin hisprintsandpaint- analysisthat would revealtheir fuller
ings. AlthoughFielddiscussesthis issue meaning. SinceJohns'sfirstTarget in 1955,
quitethoroughly, I wouldhavelikedhim the emotionalassociations evokedbythe
to includemoreon theroleof thephoto- fragmented humanfigurehavebeenimpor-
graphicimagein Johns'srecentwork. tant;thecastsfromUntitled(1972)larger
Photographic images,whichareincorpo- and morenaturalistic thananyprevious
ratedintoseveralof hisprintsbymeansof ones, are especiallypowerful.Because
photolithographic plates,photoengraving,bodyfragments do playsucha consider-
andphotoscreening, areusuallyreproduc- able role in the printsof the seventies,I
tionsof his own sculptures or detailsof thinktheywarrantmore attentionthan
paintings,mostoftenthosewithcastsof Fieldgivesthem.
bodyparts.Becausethey"take"images Another areathatFieldcouldhavepur-
from the objectitself,photography and suedfurtheris Johns'shistorical
castingtransmitthe objectwith a high andhis relationto his contemporaries.
position
It
Booksand
degree of realism.Thatrealismwould wouldbe usefulto see the printsof the
appealto Johnsin his questioning of the 1970sin thecontextof Conceptual artand Catalogs
natureof illusionism in art,specificallyin patternpainting, aswellasof theformalist
regardto scale-illusion versustrue-to- stylescomingoutof the1950sand1960s.
Received
life scale-which has been a recurrent Whenhe doesmention Johns'srelationto Amerson,L. Price,Jr., ed., Sacra-
motifin hisworksince1955. otherartists,Fieldraisessomeinteresting mento
Anothermajorthemeis that of the thoughts,as in the followingcomments Valley Landscapes,exh. cat.,
Davis,Richard L.NelsonGallery, University
ambivalence anduncertainty of allexperi- aboutthelithograph Paintingwitha Ball of California, 1979.Pp.64;53 ills.
ence,itspervasiveness creating a problem (1972-73):
in interpretation fortheviewer/critic. Field Anderson, Patricia A., Promoted
showsadmirable persistence in grappling Remarkably, the imageseemsequallyat to Glory:The Apotheosis of George
withthisissue.Hisdifficulty withinterpre- home in 1973as a commentary on the Washington, exh. cat., Northampton,
ting Johns's work, especiallyin those areas monolithic flatnessof a BriceMarden orthe Mass.,SmithCollegeMuseum ofArt,1980.
involving personalor psychological asso- abstractillusionism of a FrankStellaas did Pp.68;43 ills.
ciations,in andof itselfrevealstheartist's theprototype in 1958asanobject-like alter-
Ashton, Dore, A Fable of Modern
intentionto keeptheviewerin a stateof nativeto theindefinite andengulfing space Art,NewYork,Thames andHudson, 1980.
uncertainty. of JacksonPollockor Willemde Kooning. 50 ills.
Themainobstacleto Field'ssuccessin Withits absurdly Pp. 160; $17.95.
simplemaneuver andal-
dealingfullywiththisissueofinterpretationmostunbrushed surface,it managesto be Auty,Robert,et al., eds., AnIntro-
comesfromhisseeingartas "abranchof criticalof the seriousaesthetic of the late duction to Russian Artand Architec-
epistemologyratherthan psychology." 1960shighart,justasthefirstflagsmayhave ture (Companion to Russian Stud-
Althoughhe repeatedly admitsthatboth beena miraculously simplecriticismof the ies, 3), Cambridge, Cambridge University
knowledge andexpression existinJohns's intensely politicalstatements in the Press,1980.Pp.194;manyills. $29.95.
implicit
work,he seemsto see themas mutually individualism oftheartofthe1950s.
exclusiveratherthan as compatibleor Baro, Gene, introduction, Glen
Asa result,andbecause I wouldliketo haveseenfurther Alps Retrospective: The Collograph
complementary. explana- Idea, 1956-1980, exh.cat.,
he feels morecomfortable withtheepis- tion of theseideasas well as analysisof Bellevue,
Wash., BellevueArtMuseum(distr.Uni-
temologicalside of Johns'sart, Fielddoes this kind in the rest of the essay. of
not sufficientlyfollowthroughanddevelop To a certainextent,what is missingin versity Washington Press), 1980. Pp.
32; 24 ills. $4.95paper.
its psychologicalor emotionalaspects.At Field'sbook is the resultof its scope:it is a
one point he suggeststhat "all of Johns' catalog of prints only and not of Johns's Baron,Wendy,The CamdenTown
work embodiesthe uncertainty thathaunts entire oeuvre. Fieldthus has to dividehis Group,London, ScholarPress,1979.Pp.
the mind of the isolated individual.This space betweena generalanalysisofJohns's 405; 147ills.?35.
tragic sense of life can be viewedepiste- work, in orderto providea contextfor the
Bibrowski,Mieczyslaw,Picasso w
mologically or psychoanalytically.Each prints, and a specific treatmentof the Literackie
view can be justifiedand each has led to Polsce, Cracow,
Wydawnictwo
prints themselves.This is a difficulttask, 1979.Pp.296; 180ills.
errors of interpretation."WhileFieldpur- especiallybecause there is as yet no ade-
sues the epistemologicalaspects of this quate, comprehensivestudyof Johns'sart Blum,June, The Figure of 5, exh.
idea, however,he relegatesfurtherdiscus- as a whole. cat.,Miami,Miami-Dade
Community Col-
sion of the psychologicalto a footnote,and Field offers a wider range of material 14ills.
lege, 1979.Pp.unnumbered;
in his analysisof specificworkshe avoids than such a concentratedstudy usually
Bonta, Juan Pablo, Architecture
explorationof the psychological.For ex- does. His catalogis informativeandstimu-
and Its Interpretation, NewYork,Riz-
ample, in discussing the casts of body latingas well as an invaluableresourcefor zoli, 1980.Pp.271;119ills.$19.95.
parts from Untitled (1972), Fieldwrites: anyone interestedin the subject.The text
"I admitto feeling pressuredto interpret provides an intelligent,clearlypresented Bowlt,John E.,Journey into Non-
Johns' body-partsimageryin a more hu- evaluationby someonewitha tremendous Objectivity,exh.cat.,Dallas,DallasMu-
Summer 1980 331

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