Untitled 2001

This untitled print by Jasper Johns is a real maze of marks, lines, and shapes. He's not trying to hide the process, but rather puts it right out there in front of us. The etched lines create a surface that’s both delicate and dense, sort of like looking through a screen. The gray ink feels ghostly, transparent, and layered. Then, right there, that diagonal line cutting across the composition. It’s so simple and direct, but creates so much tension. It asks: how do we navigate these different spaces and planes of representation? Johns is always playing with our perceptions, and this print is no exception. In the work of someone like Rauschenberg, you also see this combination of found imagery and personal expression, a willingness to let the image be elusive, resisting any easy read.