Looking Outwards 6 Lydia Jin

I chose Jasper Johns’ work False Start (created in 1959) for this week’s looking outwards. False Start at first seemed like a completely random painting as if the artist just smashed the colors onto the canvas. But then when I took a closer look there were actually words of colors on each patch of color even though the words did not identify the color it was written in nor did it identify the patch of color. I feel like this aspect of the artwork further randomizes it. I really like how randomization is expressed in every possible aspect of this piece. The artwork looks like an explosion of colors and produces an erratic theme. From this work of art, we can guess that Jasper was feeling inspirational by uncertainty and nervousness when he created this piece. The title of the piece False Start may also suggest something about the artist. I did some research on Jasper’s other artworks and they were usually organized at first but gradually became more random. This piece may symbolize a transition of Jasper’s artistic style to randomness.

False Start, 1959 by Jasper Johns

Link of artwork: False Start,Jasper Johns