"JASPER JOHNS. AN ALLEGORY OF PAINTING, 1955-1965" par Jeffrey WEISS. Editions Yale University Press, New Haven. 2007. Fort petit in-4, dos droit, couverture souple cartonnée à rabat illustrée en couleurs. 276 pages. Texte en anglais illustré de très nombreuses reproductions photographiques noir & blanc et couleurs, in-texte et hors texte. Ouvrage réalisé dans le cadre de l'exposition éponyme à la National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, du 28 Janvier au 29 Avril 2007 et au Kunstmuseum Basel, Bâle, du 02 Juin au 09 Septembre 2007. 

 

"During the first decade of his career, Jasper Johns produced a landmark body of work that has proven to be a deep resource for artists since mid-century. Within this largest oeuvre lies a narrative concerning the very premises of art-making. This narrative is based on the unfolding relationship of four motifs: the target; the "device" (a pivoted slat used to scrape paint); the stencil naming of colors; and the trace or imprint of the body. Observed in isolation, the motifs represent an inventory of operations through which Johns managed to invoke yet shun both abstraction and representation. What is painting? What is pictorial space, and what, literally, is the place of the realm of the procedural and the concrete; from target to trace, such is the primary theme of the work of this volume. Five essays examine John's work of the first decade from various perspectives, including those of the historian, the artist-critic, and the conservator. Sumptuously illustrated, the book features 170 color reproductions as well as previously unpublished archival photographs of the artist at work in his studio."

 

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