Untitled 2001

This untitled print was made by Jasper Johns, using lithography. Isn't it amazing how the process of artmaking itself becomes the subject here? Look at the textures and colors, the way Johns layers and combines images, almost like a collage made of memories. There’s a tension between the flat surface of the paper and the illusion of depth, as though he's pulling you in and pushing you away at the same time. My eye is drawn to the bottom left, to that kind of hazy space where the pinks and browns meet. It feels like a portal, or a shadow, something not quite definable. Johns plays with our expectations of what an image should be, blurring the lines between representation and abstraction. It makes me think of Rauschenberg, another artist who was always experimenting with process and materials, pushing the boundaries of what art could be. It’s this sense of open-endedness, of endless possibilities, that makes Johns' work so compelling. There's no right way to see it.