Untitled (Embassies) [trial proof 1st state] 1999

Here's a print, Untitled (Embassies) trial proof, by Jasper Johns. It's all about the blacks and the whites, and the grays in between. It's like a dance of marks, each one testing the waters, trying to figure out what it wants to be. You can see the artist feeling their way through the process. Check out the surface, it's not trying to hide anything. You can see the marks of the tools, the way the ink sits on the paper. It's honest, you know? There's this curve at the bottom that kind of pulls the whole thing together. It's not perfect, but that's what makes it interesting. It’s a bit like a horizon line, but also like a gesture that tries to tie all of the different elements of the composition together. Johns always plays with perception, and this piece is no different. It reminds me a little of Rauschenberg, both of them playing with signs and symbols, making us question what we think we know. It's not about answers, it's about the questions, the looking, the thinking. Art is an ongoing conversation, after all.