Some Downtown Fun Part 1 Jasper Johns at the Broad Museum

In mid March I had a wonderful adventure in downtown Los Angeles.  I took the metro blue line to meet my friends Mary and David at the Broad Museum for a special Jasper Johns exhibit. It was a beautiful spring morning.  

 The Broad Museum, seen below is the white waffle facade bldg. in the foreground.

It is located across the street from the Disney Music Hall which is a  wildly amazing sculptured metal building. Here it is below:

My friends had invited me to this special ticketed event and I was thrilled because Jasper Johns was one of the modern artists of the 1950-60's that I had studied about in art history classes in college. *

 Things the Mind Already Knows
"When they were first exhibited in the late 1950's, Jasper John's renditions of flags, targets, numbers and alphabets established a new artistic vocabulary. Each was an instantly identifiable design that could be reproduced on a flat surface while simultaneously retaining its symbolic or practical function. His paintings of flags can be saluted; targets aimed at, states locatedon  his maps, and numbers and alphabets counted or used for language, respectively. By appropriating widely recognizable signs and symbols, Johns sought to make the familiar unfamiliar, inviting viewers to look more closely at what he calls "things the mind already knows." 

Johns has returned to his early motifs throughout his career, engaging with and developing them across a breadth of media. The selection of works in the first three galleries of this exhibition demonstrates the depth of John's technical skill, showcasing himas a highly accomplished painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. In whichever form they are presented John's renderings of familiar signs and symbols stimulate the eye and mind in new ways and provoke the viewer to study and break fixed habits of perception..." 

 Jasper Johns "In Memory of My Feelings" 1961

Part II of this blogpost tomorrow discusses Jasper Johns


From Wikipedia:

Jasper Johns is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related topics. Wikipedia

Born: May 15, 1930 (age 87), Augusta, GA

Periods: Abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, Modern art, Pop art

Influenced by: Marcel Duchamp, Hart Crane, Tatyana Grosman

Education: University of South Carolina, Parsons School of Design