Untitled (White Mezzotint) [working proof with acrylic additions] 1995

This 'Untitled' print by Jasper Johns seems to have been made using a mezzotint plate, with some acrylic added on top. It's all in shades of grey, except for the cream paper it's printed on, and it looks like it has been through a lot of states, a real working proof. I can just imagine Johns in the studio, inking, wiping, printing, and then painting on top, maybe changing his mind, or maybe just seeing what happens if he adds a bit of acrylic here or there. Look at the sun symbols, that cartoon face, and other scribbles, all floating in this hazy field of grey. What was he thinking when he made this? Is it personal or is it abstract? Johns's work is fascinating because he's always playing with the surface, the texture, the feel of the thing. And he, like many artists, seems to be in conversation with all the other artists who have ever made anything. Each mark feels like a question, a search, as though the work emerges from a process of trial, error, and intuition.