The Seasons (Summer) [2nd state] 1987

Jasper Johns created this print, "The Seasons (Summer)", using etching, and aquatint – techniques that allow for a range of tonal effects through layering ink on a metal plate. Looking at the surface, I can see a figure, almost like a shadow or an echo, standing against what seems like a brick wall. I wonder what it was like for Johns to make this. Did he start with the figure or the wall? Did he plan it all out or let the process guide him? The way the shapes overlap and intersect creates a kind of visual puzzle. I can see glimpses of other objects and figures, like memories or dreams floating to the surface. And the circular motif appears to suggest cycles, like the seasons themselves. Johns must have been thinking about time and memory, and how we carry the past with us. Painters, like Johns, are always talking to each other, borrowing and riffing on ideas across time. There's no right way to understand a painting because it’s all about feeling and figuring things out for yourself.