Jasper Johns Flag

In the exhibition “Take an Object” shown at the Museum of Modern Art, many works of art by particular artists featured. One specific work, placed right at the beginning of the exhibit, was by artist Jasper Johns called Flag. Flag is a piece associated with Johns’ theme of repetition in his artworks as well as influenced by personal and historical contexts. Flag was made between 1954-55 with encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on plywood in three panels. The formal aspects combined created a flag with red, white, and blue which are the symbolic colors of American culture. The flag contains forty-eight stars and thirteen stripes, as well as old newspapers, collaged underneath paint and this creates a thick and gloppy texture. The composition appears messy, and it is not colored perfectly because under layers of the collage can be seen where the paint did not cover. Flag was not the only work Jasper Johns’ created on the subject matter of the American Flag; he has constructed a number of different flag works, including Flag (Moratorium) from 1969, Flags II from 1973, and Flags from 1973. These works show that the theme of the American Flag has shown to be of some importance for Johns, especially for him to keep repeating it …show more content…
“It has been suggested that the American flag in Johns’ work is an autobiographical reference, because a military hero after whom he was named, Sergeant William Jasper, raised the flag in a brave action during the Revolutionary War.” In Johns’ work, it is easy to see the political influence. Since the flag theme was continuous in his work, this shows that the subject was not only important to him, but it seemed to be worthy of public attention as well. The American Flag has many different representations all encapsulated in one symbol. They are related to freedom, bravery, unity, strength, and other aspects or characteristics of American