Summary Of Flag By Jasper Johns

Flags, they are everywhere and easily identified but not actually studied with great depth in everyday life and artist Jasper Johns recognized this, he often painted images of things that are seen so much that they are not really seen anymore. He has painted many images of the American flag over his career and has been quoted saying that he used the design so often because “it took care of a great deal for [him] because [he] didn’t have to design it…So [he] went on to similar things like the target…That gave [him] room to work on other levels”.
He used such a common place image matched with his unique technique of collage layered with encaustic paint, to show that at first glance, many overlooked images in everyday life also have more layers and thus are worthy of deeper inspection. His 1945 piece entitled Flag, is
The painting itself has 13 red and white stripes and 48 white stars against a blue background square, it’s an image that at the time, during the Cold War, would have elicited different reactions from people. The collage underneath was made with newspaper, a disposable material much like other Pop artists used and the encaustic technique was meant to draw the viewer in for further inspection of the piece. There isn’t one point of focus in the piece, everything is meant to be given the same amount of consideration, and this is done with the technique using the encaustic paint. He arranged the collage and then the heavy brushstrokes in a way that spreads out the focus, ensuring there is not one single focal point. His artworks, including this piece, seem more concerned with the structure than with the meaning, which greatly depended on the personality of the viewer. The use of the American flag as his image of choice could show a great deal about Jasper’s own life and personality. He came from a military family, was