Alphabet c. 1968 - 1969

Curator: This is Jasper Johns' "Alphabet," a mixed-media print from 1968-69. It's subtle, almost monochromatic. What's your immediate reaction? Editor: Hauntingly quiet, isn’t it? It's like a whisper of language, a ghost of letters on the page. I feel like I’m trying to decipher a half-remembered dream. Curator: It challenges the conventions of printmaking. The process involves layering, perhaps using encaustic techniques to build up this textured surface. Notice the faint impression of the letters – a radical rethinking of visibility. It merges drawing and printmaking techniques. Editor: Yes, the subtle interplay of texture is captivating. It really prompts you to lean in, to get close. There’s something about the tactile quality of the surface. I almost want to reach out and touch it, to feel the impression of those elusive letters. It makes me think of the very beginning of learning to write. Curator: Consider the context. This piece emerged in a period where Pop Art and Conceptual Art questioned established artistic values. It makes you ask what the artist values or, in this case, *de*values. Johns repeatedly uses motifs such as maps, flags and targets as source material for his paintings and sculptures to emphasize that art lies not so much in what you paint as in the manner you paint it. Editor: The repetition, too, the implication of endless alphabets, it's…well, kind of anxious. All that potential, all that language, almost erased. It hints at a deeper frustration or meditation on communication itself. As a writer myself, it's confronting. Curator: I agree, it makes us reflect on how art can embrace or refuse readily legible meaning. How it operates and, significantly, does not operate. In my view it really stands at a crossroads of tradition and experimentation. Editor: Absolutely. It lingers in the mind, doesn't it? This piece is less about what it *is* than about what it *suggests*. Thank you, Jasper Johns. I’m still pondering the nature of words after this artwork. Curator: It highlights the artist’s ability to challenge established methods, inviting engagement on multiple levels, it reveals art's complex relationship with language.