Untitled (Geldzahler) [trial proof] 1998

This trial proof of 'Untitled (Geldzahler)', probably from around the 70s, is by Jasper Johns. It’s monochrome. There is a figure with tears obscuring their eyes. Look how Johns uses thin black lines that carve into geometric shapes and other amorphous forms. You know, when I look at this, I think about all the false starts, the layering, the wiping away—the sheer labor and the decisions made in the studio. I wonder what Johns was thinking about? Perhaps he was wrestling with grief, or the pain of loss. I sympathize with the artist in the studio trying to work something out. The black teardrops feel so loaded—but are they really tears? Or some kind of abstract mark? Johns leaves it ambiguous. And that’s the beauty of painting. It can be so open-ended and resonate in so many ways. Like Rauschenberg, Johns shows us how mark making is like thinking. It's a conversation across time, inspiring creativity.