Jasper Johns' early work focuses on standardized symbols such as flags, targets, letters, and numbers: "things that the mind already knows, things which are seen and not looked at, not examined." The American flag, in particular, is a motif to which Johns has returned numerous times throughout his career. Bypassing the flag's emotional and nationalistic connotations, Johns emphasizes its flat, one-dimensional qualities as pure image.

In Flags, Johns presents a visual and perceptual game. Focus your eyes on the center dot of the top flag and stare at it for 30 seconds without blinking. Now blink and look at the dot in the center of the gray flag at the bottom. Staring at the top flag desensitizes the retina to green, black, and orange. When the eyes make a shift to a neutral color, the retina sees an after-image of red, white, and blue--their complementary colors. Thus the viewer, rather than the artist, "paints" the flag in its correct colors.
Copyright: Copyright 1998 Walker Art Center


Text Citation

Label text for Jasper Johns, Flags (1965), oil on canvas, Courtesy the artist, from the exhibition Selections from the Permanent Collection, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, December 8, 1996 to April 4, 1999.