Art Study 1

      

      One of Jasper Johns most famous pieces of art is Map. He created Map in the year 1961. It is an oil on canvas painting that is 78 x 123 1/8 inches. It is a representation of the map of the United States.

      Map is a large painting that mainly uses primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. There are traces of white that covers and sometimes blends with the colors that are beneath it. There are also traces of black that emphasize certain parts of the piece. The black is also mixed with the other colors to produce darker and muddier tones. If you observe carefully you’re able to see the different techniques Johns used to apply the paint. For example, he painted Ontario with watered down paint to transition into painting the Great Lakes. Although the colors that were used are limited, the brushstrokes Johns uses throughout the painting keep it from having a lackluster appearance. Johns had also labeled the map by stenciling the names of each state and each ocean. The font of the stencils is generic to give off a comforting reaction. The map itself adds structure to the painting. The reason why Johns chose to paint a map may have been that it is a very familiar image. It is also unthreatening and not very valued. Because of those reasons, viewers are able to accept the changes and alterations that happen to it’s image.
      John created Map at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. That was the time when the Peace Corps was being formed and many events occurred to act upon the realities of segregation in society. It was also the year when John F. Kennedy was elected president. The United States was starting to take on a new look. Map signifies the changes that happened in America. And, Johns wanted the viewer to rethink about their views on the United States.


Works and Images Cited:

Philip Yenawine. Artchive. October 28, 2008.
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/J/johns/map.jpg.html