The Seasons [5th element in black 1/2 (7th state)] 1987

This is Jasper Johns’ print, The Seasons [5th element in black 1/2 (7th state)]. With its etched lines and tonal shifts, it feels like a conversation between the artist and the plate. Imagine Johns in his studio, working away, coaxing these figures and symbols out of the metal. There’s a ghostlike quality to the imagery, a layering of personal and art historical references. You can see the forms of body parts and the Rubin vase, all interwoven with Johns' signature crosshatching. It’s a visual puzzle, a kind of personal language he’s developed over decades. I think about all the decisions he made, each mark building on the last, editing and refining until the image emerges. It reminds me that artists are constantly in dialogue, borrowing and riffing off each other’s ideas across time. What does it mean, I wonder, and does it need to *mean* anything at all? Instead, we might consider Johns' print as an invitation to see things in a new way.