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Lot Essay
"Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it."
In 1978, Johns remarked, "In my early work I tried to hide my personality, my psychological state, my emotionsbut eventually it seemed like a losing battle. Finally one must drop the reserve." For much of Johns' career, he masked his presence in his art with subjects like Flags, Targets, and Maps. It is the "painterly-ness" that hints to the artist's hand. In Savarin though, Johns begins to reveal himself. The artist presents a coffee can with paint brushes in monumental scale in the foreground and his cross-hatch imagery in the background. Through his handling, Johns invoked the traditional art historical subject of an artist in his/her atelier or studio. Johns resisted painting a naturalistic self-portrait, and instead, he substituted himself with his instruments. The cross-hatch motif, used for the background, refers to the artist's work from 1973 in painting and 1974 as a print. He would explore the subject in painting until 1981 and 1989 in prints. These brilliantly colored images are among his most visually abstract subjects. In each, He devised calculated and repetitious brushstroke sequences. As a pattern, in contrast to the tradition of abstraction found in artists from Pollock and Rothko, Johns attempts to elide his presence and emotions. It seems strange then that Johns would turn to a self-portrait in 1977. However, as Johns conceded in his statement from 1978, his presence slipped into his abstract cross-hatch works. In his approach to "drop the reserve", Johns placed the Savarin can/himself as the dominate object/subject in the foreground and depicted the brushes on a monumental scale. He displays the tools used to extend him into the abstract patterns. Savarin is also a pivotal point in his career. In 1985, he painted Seasons and executed the subject as prints starting in 1986. Unlike many of his early subjects, like Savarin, Johns drew from references to his artistic and personal life.
In 1978, Johns remarked, "In my early work I tried to hide my personality, my psychological state, my emotionsbut eventually it seemed like a losing battle. Finally one must drop the reserve." For much of Johns' career, he masked his presence in his art with subjects like Flags, Targets, and Maps. It is the "painterly-ness" that hints to the artist's hand. In Savarin though, Johns begins to reveal himself. The artist presents a coffee can with paint brushes in monumental scale in the foreground and his cross-hatch imagery in the background. Through his handling, Johns invoked the traditional art historical subject of an artist in his/her atelier or studio. Johns resisted painting a naturalistic self-portrait, and instead, he substituted himself with his instruments. The cross-hatch motif, used for the background, refers to the artist's work from 1973 in painting and 1974 as a print. He would explore the subject in painting until 1981 and 1989 in prints. These brilliantly colored images are among his most visually abstract subjects. In each, He devised calculated and repetitious brushstroke sequences. As a pattern, in contrast to the tradition of abstraction found in artists from Pollock and Rothko, Johns attempts to elide his presence and emotions. It seems strange then that Johns would turn to a self-portrait in 1977. However, as Johns conceded in his statement from 1978, his presence slipped into his abstract cross-hatch works. In his approach to "drop the reserve", Johns placed the Savarin can/himself as the dominate object/subject in the foreground and depicted the brushes on a monumental scale. He displays the tools used to extend him into the abstract patterns. Savarin is also a pivotal point in his career. In 1985, he painted Seasons and executed the subject as prints starting in 1986. Unlike many of his early subjects, like Savarin, Johns drew from references to his artistic and personal life.