Untitled (Embassies) [trial proof] 1999

Jasper Johns made this intriguing print, Untitled (Embassies) [trial proof], using a plate, around the late twentieth century. Just looking at the wispy washes and hard-edged blocks of color makes me think about the back-and-forth between accident and control. What’s so fascinating here is that it’s a trial proof, a moment of the artist trying to figure something out. I imagine Johns standing at the printing press, pulling this print and thinking, "Hmm, not quite right." Or maybe, "Almost there!" He was probably playing around with those stripes, that dark swirl, and even the found image of a family. I bet he was trying to find the right balance. You see that sweeping stroke that grounds the composition? It’s like a skater carving a line in the ice! For me, Johns is a master of this kind of visual thinking. It reminds us that painting is always a conversation, an experiment, a back-and-forth between the artist, the materials, and the work itself.