Untitled 2000

This ‘Untitled’ print was made by Jasper Johns, and you can really feel him trying to figure something out. Looking at this, I feel the push and pull of observation—two faces become a vase, a vase becomes two faces. He’s playing with our perception, and the simple contrast of black and white heightens the drama, makes it feel like a magic trick. And those marks! You can see how the block was carved, the way the tool moved across the surface. It's not just about the image, it's about the making of it. Johns lets the process be visible. And like his other works, there is a quiet, reflective quality which comes from someone taking the time to really look and rework an idea. Johns seems to say "Let's look closely, let's think again." And in that invitation, he opens up a space for us to join him in his looking.