Untitled (Geldzahler) [working proof with ink additions] 1998

This is an intaglio print with ink additions by Jasper Johns, who was born in 1930. This working proof is titled "Geldzahler," likely a reference to Henry Geldzahler, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the post-war period, institutions like the Met played a pivotal role in shaping the art world. Johns, along with contemporaries like Rauschenberg, critiqued the prevailing Abstract Expressionist style and the commercialization of art. He achieved this by incorporating everyday objects and popular imagery into his work. Here, the abstract forms and overlaid grid question the traditional ideas of representation and artistic value. The addition of ink suggests a process of experimentation and a rejection of fixed meanings. By examining the artist's notes, the correspondence between Johns and Geldzahler, and the exhibition records of the Met, we can gain insights into the artistic and social context that shaped this work. The meaning of art, after all, is contingent on its time.