Numbers 1966

Jasper Johns made this print of numbers, with ink on paper. He's not just depicting numbers, but almost building them, like a brick wall of digits. The texture is key here. The ink looks thick in some places, almost like it's been layered on, giving the numbers a kind of raised relief. You can almost feel the pressure of the printing process, the way the ink squished and spread. Look at the number 8 near the middle; see how the ink bleeds out a little around the edges, creating a soft halo? It's those little imperfections that give the print its character. It reminds me a little of Kurt Schwitters, who also found beauty in the everyday and used repetition to create these mesmerizing patterns. But with Johns, it's not just about the form; it's about the idea of numbers as symbols, as things we use every day without really thinking about. He's inviting us to look closer, to see the beauty and complexity in something so simple.