Welcome to the world of Jasper Johns, where art meets intellect, and creativity intertwines with introspection. Jasper Johns, an iconic figure in the realm of contemporary art, has left an indelible mark with his profound insights and groundbreaking works. Renowned for his innovative approach to painting, sculpture, and printmaking, Johns has captivated audiences worldwide with his distinctive style and thought-provoking imagery.
Born in 1930 in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns emerged as a prominent figure in the American art scene during the 1950s and continues to inspire generations of artists with his unparalleled vision and experimentation. His exploration of familiar symbols and everyday objects challenges conventional notions of representation and invites viewers to delve deeper into the layers of meaning within his art. With a career spanning over six decades, Johns remains a towering figure whose influence extends far beyond the confines of the art world.
Below, you’ll find a curated collection of Jasper Johns’ quotes that offer glimpses into his creative process, philosophical musings, and reflections on art and life. Whether you’re seeking inspiration, contemplating the nature of art, or simply intrigued by Johns’ perspective, these quotes are sure to spark imagination and ignite contemplation. Feel free to copy them, pair them with images, or experiment with different fonts to enhance their visual impact.
To me, self-description is a calamity. Jasper Johns
Do something, do something to that, and then do something to that. Jasper Johns
I don’t want my work to be an exposure of my feelings. Jasper Johns
What you might consider a bad work can be of extreme interest to an artist in ways which are not about its being a good or bad. Jasper Johns
To be an artist you have to give up everything, including the desire to be a good artist. Jasper Johns
I’m not sure what ‘coming out right’ means. It often means that what you do holds a kind of energy that you wouldn’t just put there, that comes about through grace of some sort. Jasper Johns
I don’t know how to organise thoughts. I don’t know how to have thoughts. Jasper Johns
I think a painting should include more experience than simply intended statement. Jasper Johns
I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don’t think that’s a painter’s business. He just paints paintings without a conscious reason. Jasper Johns
Whatever I do seems artificial and false, to me. Jasper Johns
I often find that having an idea in my head prevents me from doing something else. Working is therefore a way of getting rid of an idea. Jasper Johns
I never wish for critics. Jasper Johns
In the place where I was a child, there were no artists and there was no art, so I really didn’t know what that meant. Jasper Johns
As one gets older one sees many more paths that could be taken. Artists sense within their own work that kind of swelling of possibilities, which may seem a freedom or a confusion. Jasper Johns
One likes to think that one anticipates changes in the spaces we inhabit, and our ideas about space. Jasper Johns
Intention involves such a small fragment of our consciousness and of our mind and of our life. Jasper Johns
To do a drawing for a painting most often means doing something very sketchy and schematic and then later making it polished. Jasper Johns
I wish there were more humor in my work than I see in it. Jasper Johns
This image of wanting to be an artist – that I would in some way become an artist -was very strong. I knew for a long, long time that that’s what I would be. But nothing I ever did seemed to bring me any nearer to the condition of being an artist. And I didn’t know how to do it. Jasper Johns
I love drawings, so I’ve always enjoyed making drawings that exist on their own. Jasper Johns
Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer neither. Jasper Johns
Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. Jasper Johns
One wants one’s work to be the world, but of course it’s never the world. The work is in the world; it never contains the whole thing. Jasper Johns
The only logical thing I can think of is that I knew there were such things as artists, and I knew there were none where I lived. So I knew that to be an artist you had to be somewhere else. And I very much wanted to be somewhere else. Jasper Johns
I am not strong on perfection. Jasper Johns
I was raised in South Carolina; I wasn’t aware of any art in South Carolina. There was a minor museum in Charleston, which had nothing of interest in it. It showed local artists, paintings of birds. Jasper Johns
One works without thinking how to work. Jasper Johns
There was very little art in my childhood. I was raised in South Carolina; I wasn’t aware of any art in South Carolina. There was a minor museum in Charleston, which had nothing of interest in it. It showed local artists, paintings of birds. Jasper Johns
I am just trying to find a way to make pictures. Jasper Johns
Everyone is of course free to interpret the work in his own way. I think seeing a picture is one thing and interpreting it is another. Jasper Johns
I tend to like things that already exist. Jasper Johns
My experience of life is that it’s very fragmented; certain kinds of things happen, and in another place, a different kind of thing occurs. I would like my work to have some vivid indication of those differences. Jasper Johns
At first I had some idea that the absence of color made the work more physical. Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions. Jasper Johns
In the place where I was a child, there were no artists and there was no art, so I really didn’t know what that meant. I think I thought it meant that I would be in a situation different than the one that I was in. Jasper Johns
When something is new to us, we treat it as an experience. We feel that our senses are awake and clear. We are alive. Jasper Johns
The thing is, if you believe in the unconscious – and I do – there’s room for all kinds of possibilities that I don’t know how you prove one way or another. Jasper Johns
I decided that if my work contained what I could identify as a likeness to other work, I would remove it.’ Jasper Johns
Most of the power of painting comes through the manipulation of space… but I don’t understand that. Jasper Johns
Sometime during the mid-50s I said, ‘I am an artist.’ Before that, for many years, I had said, ‘I’m going to be an artist.’ Then I went through a change of mind and a change of heart. What made ‘going to be an artist’ into ‘being an artist’, was, in part, a spiritual change. Jasper Johns