The Seasons [1/2 proof of cut plate "Fall"] 1990

Curator: Here we have Jasper Johns's "The Seasons [1/2 proof of cut plate "Fall"]" from 1990, executed with a combination of ink, mixed media, and printmaking techniques. Editor: Well, right away, it strikes me as… fragmented. Like memories overlaid, or maybe even a deconstructed puzzle where the pieces don’t quite fit. There’s a real melancholy in the grayscale. Curator: Johns, particularly in his later career, often dealt with themes of mortality and memory, frequently incorporating elements from his past and art historical references into his work. You see that fragmentation manifested not just visually, but also conceptually, if that makes sense. Editor: Absolutely. There’s something incredibly personal in that, a whisper of autobiography, maybe? That skull hiding behind those geometries hints at something darker than just autumnal melancholy. Curator: It does. Johns was always keenly aware of his position in art history, the lineage of artists that came before him. Works like this one were often in dialogue with predecessors like Duchamp, Rauschenberg, even Picasso. Editor: See, I also see Johns pushing back. I get a sense that he isn't simply reinterpreting, but sort of wrestling with these giants, processing what their influence meant for his own voice. Almost a struggle shown in the harshness. Curator: And it's worth noting that he has that spray of pigment down below. I always thought it added to the sense of incompletion or impermanence...the image is there and also not there at all. Editor: Exactly. And the fact that it’s a print...all those layers of creation. It almost becomes sculptural, doesn't it? You want to peel back the ink to discover all the images that make up the image we are actually seeing. Curator: A print as a repository of past choices and marks...almost an archaeological dig in ink and paper. A fascinating way of capturing what fall represents too. Thanks. Editor: Thank you, it leaves me reflecting about what's hidden behind every end. It will make for good meditation, I imagine.