One of the most influential of twentieth-century artists, Jasper Johns (b. 1930) occupies a pivotal position in the history of modern art. Associated with both the Abstract Expressionist and Pop movements, Johns has continually pushed the boundaries of conventional expectations about art.

His famous images of targets and flags not only refocused artists and critics on objects, but they also brought about widespread debate on the relationship of images to representation, a question that remains important for artists and historians today.

In the early 1950s, Johns made a number of sculptural reliefs and casts, a form of art that he later developed in two directions. On the one hand, he created his famous painted bronze casts of everyday objects, such as tin cans and light bulbs. These introduced the intellectual paradoxes of the copy: as a work of art, the copy appears more "valuable" than the commonplace "original" that it replicates.

On the other hand, in the late 1950s, Johns began to incorporate actual objects such as brushes, brooms, cans, and letters into his paintings. His two-dimensional images, although embellished with objects, remained essentially paintings rather than sculptures. Johns's latest creative work has continued in this painterly vein, giving special importance to flat shapes, lines, crosshatching, and patterns.

This book reproduces in full color sixty-nine of the artist's most important works and includes an informative text discussing the artist's life, his art, and his influence on modern American art.