Product Description
Jasper Johns (b. 1930), one of today's most acclaimed and influential artists, is rarely considered in relation to monochromatic art. Yet single-colour experimentations have figured prominently in his productions since 1955, and within that significant subset of his work, the majority of monochromes are grey. In fact, every one of his iconic, serialized forms has been articulated in grey. This elegant book, spanning Johns' full career, examines this singular preoccupation, presenting a revolutionary new understanding of and appreciation for the artist as an accomplished tonalist. Johns' greys traverse an infinitely expressive spectrum of differentiated hues and values evident in the new photography expressly commissioned for this catalogue. The volume features paintings, sculptures, drawings, lithographs, silkscreens, etchings, and aquatints created in a wide array of grey media: oil and acrylic paint, encaustic, collage, Sculp-metal, aluminum, lead, silver, graphite, pastel, watercolour, and ink. This book also features recent works published here for the first time.Anchoring this essential publication are compelling essays that enrich our perspective on this prolific artist's entire oeuvre. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Frans Hals had black; Jasper Johns has gray.
I hesitated before ordering this book. I already own 5 books about Jasper Johns and was thinking to myself that owning one more would not add much to my appreciation of this great artist. I was wrong. This book, the catalogue for an exhibition held at the Chicago Art Institute in 2007, is full of marvelous illustrations (of some recent works like theCatenary series) and brilliant essays on the importance of this most difficult of colors, gray, in the work of Johns. The quality of the illustrations is such that they enable the reader to see all the nuances of the artist's palette as if we were standing in front of the paintings (or drawings, or prints, as a matter of fact). In this respect, all the photographs were taken by the same photographer using one type of material only so as to show the works in the same light and shade. Johns's gray is like Hals's black: he has hundreds of different grays and the book reveals this perfectly.

Highly recommended.

A muct have for contemporary artists
I have found this book most helpful. The articles written by the various contributors is worth the price alone. The illustrations are satisfactory as most of these works are about texture.This book will be a friend for a long time. ... Read more

Product Description
Pairing the talents of a leading American artist and the author of Jurassic Park, a collection of intellectual works featuring the artist's use of puns, optical illusion, and embedded images is accompanied by analytical text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Beware the wrong author. (not exactly a review)
BEWARE!!! Double check before you make final purchase that is is Michael Crichton and not Riva Castleman. Riva wrote a book by the same name. The place I bought it from would not responde to me when I tried to return it.
I bought this book to finish my Michael Crichton collection. Once I got it in the mail I was extreamly bummed to find a diffrent book written by a diffrent author. I dont know if the MC version is good or not, it probbaly is, maybe one day I will actually get it. I am wary of buying this book online though as I dont want the same scenario happening again.

order discrepency
The jasper johns book I ordered, and received is not the Michael crichton book which seems to be unavailable at an affordable price. I am happy with the book I have.

Into the heart of creation
I own six books on Jasper Johns (monographs, catalogues of exhibitions) and this one is undoutedly the best. The illustrations are numerous and of a good quality, however this is not your coffee-table type of book: you do want to read the text, which, through numerous interviews and essays, manages to give the best analysis available on the master's art. Especially interesting are the dialogues between Chrichton (himself a collector of Johns's works) and the artist. This is a book that often providesunique insight into the artist's creative process; Chrichton opens many doors and it is up to the reader/art lover to step in and discover Johns's mysterious world.

Good
Novelists have always loved artists, and artists have always loved novelists. They love and admire the other's talent, but--most important--they are not competitors. Crichton's love of Johns' workcertainly comes forth, and Johns' seemed flattered that a best-sellingnovelist, and not an art professor, wanted to do a book on him. That mutualadmiration underlies why this is such a solid book.

Probably as good as possible--without being intrusive
The author well restrained himself from "digging into the painful childhood" that produced such an unusually remote "negator of impulses."He brought out the positive aspects of Johnspersonality--his ability to laugh at himself and not always to take himselftoo seriously."His work is a constant negation of impulses"said the critic..."wouldn't you say so Jasper?""NO"says Jasper, laughing.Jasper can laugh.That is nice.The authorrespected his need for privacy in his personal life.He presented a verydifficult, complex personality with dignity, humor, and good taste. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

good overview of Johns's early oeuvre
Jasper Johns (born 1930)is an important American painter who is variously said to belong to the Minimalist, Pop Art or Neo-Dadaist schools. This catalogue presents paintings from the first decade of his creative output. Although Johns presently continues to paint, his output is minimal and his works attract very high prices. One painting has sold for $80 million, making it supposedly the most valuable art work by a living painter.

I bought this book in an attempt to expand my horizons; my interests generally lie in art and music "from the olden days" (as my children like to say). The many color illustrations of Johns's earlier works are very well reproduced and the printing quality of the book is a pleasure in itself. I must admit that the paintings-targets, letters, numbers, hand paintings and such like- are interesting to examine but ultimately fail to move or excite me. But I am pleased to have this book. I am sure there is more to Johns than meets my eyes and he certainly has more substance and intelligence that many other modern artists. The fact that he possesses and admires Cezanne's paintings is an additional feather in his cap.

I found the articles often riddled with obscure artspeak; trying to make head or tail of the writing required great concentration. Why is writing about modern art so frequently prolix and complicated? Sometimes I just gave up and looked at the pictures!

beautiful reproductions
This is a wonderful book to add to any art library. Although I have yet to read all the bio, the parts I have begun are nicely written. There is even some photo reference to how he created these works, pinned to the wall.

Top-quality illustrations
Published to accompany an exhibition held at the National Gallery in Washington (and later at the Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland) and concentrating on the pivotal decade 1955-1965 when Johns produced his most famous works, this catalogue is worth it mainly because of the quality of the illustrations. So much has been written on Johns's art that it is sometimes refreshing to be able to pause in front of his works and just enjoy them for their pure pictorial quality (color, texture...). This book enables you to do just that. Then if you want to read the text, you will find it well written, clever (especially at the end of the book, where paintings are analysed and interpreted one by one and in detail), sometimes a bit far-fetched, but just like everything else I know which has dealt with Johns's art (see Chrichton, Varnedoe,etc...).

An equisite, full-color, thoughtful read . . . but
This book is gorgeous in its color, close-ups, and perspectives on Mr. Johns, but perhaps "Mr. Johns's temper" would flair when he realizes throughout the book he'd find "Mr. Johns' temper." Perhaps a global spell-check changed everything reflecting Mr. Johns's last name, but gee-wiz what a horrible annoyance. I was stunned this would happen through the auspices of the National Gallery in Washington. Perhaps President Bush had a night job editing this text while reading his 60 books a year?

Targets, Flags, and More
An excellent and broad-spectrumcatalog of an exhibit based on a seminal decade, 1955-1965,in Jasper Johns' career.Writers analyze diverse aspects of these early years of Johns' career that established him as one of the great figures in modern art and stimulated much in art created by others. I especially enjoyed the essays by artist and critic Robert Morris and conservation expert Carol Mancusi-Ungaro. Excellent reproductions of the works shown in the exhibit. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

A simple, but very good beginning.
This 96 page book is printed on high quality, glossy paper. It holds a decent amount of pictures of Jasper Johns' paintings: typically 1 to 2 per page. Mixed in with the pictures are writings that range from explaining his paintings in laymen's terms, to bits and pieces of his biography. All in all this book is a rather simple, but very good beginning to a great American painter and his work.

Good overview, good value
Like the other Taschen Basic Art series books I've seen, this provides a good introduction to Johns's work, covering his career through the present day.At only 96 pages, including a large number of color reproductions of his works, it is a quick read, but it also is far from comprehensive, of course.

For the price and quality, it offers a very good value to the layman seeking to learn more about the artist's work. ... Read more

Product Description
Jasper Johnsís art unites mastery, mystery, simplicity, and contradiction. His methodical working process combines intense deliberation and experimentation, obsessive craft, cycles of revision and repetition, and decisive shifts of direction. Johns also frequently borrows images from other artists, which, ironically, only underscores the originality of his own vision. His work occupies a key position in the art of the second half of the twentieth century. Jasper Johns: A Retrospective is the most complete and authoritative resource on it available, containing 264 color plates illustrating his paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints. Accompanying essays review his essential themes, analyze his references to other artists, and explore how his contemporaries have, in turn, seen and absorbed his own work. The plates are arranged to follow the stages of his career, allowing comparison of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints from each period, as his style developed and changed. That comprehensive selection of reproductions is interwoven with an illustrated chronology tracing Johns' life and work with unprecedented accuracy and thoroughness. With its scholarly essays and extensive bibliography, Jasper Johns: A Retrospective is the indispensable reference work on this crucial artist. This volume was originally published to accompany the major exhibition of Johns' work held at The Museum of Modern Art in 1996 and 1997, his first full retrospective in 20 years. It has been out of print since 2002.Amazon.com Review
In any survey of the art of the second half of this century,Jasper Johns is a central figure. This comprehensive book is the mostauthoritative and complete book to date on this important NorthAmerican artist. This lavish volume contains 483 illustrations,including 261 in full color and four foldouts. Johns's entire oeuvreis arranged in sections corresponding to each era of his career in allmedia--paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints. With its scholarlyessays, beautiful color plate reproductions, and extensivebibliography and chronology, this book is sure to become thedefinitive resource on Jasper Johns. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

jasper johns
here is a fabulous book on the american painter Jasper Johns.
As usual, the museum of modern art offers us a big book (more than 400 pages), with beautiful pictures of his work and a great look at his artistic evolution.
So, if there's a book about Jasper Johns to buy, this is the good one!
very complete and great page setting.

A magnificent retrospective of this great artist's life work
Did you miss the Johns retrospective at NY MOMA?This book captures the essence of an American Michaelangelo.Subjective?You bet!If you have even the slightest interest in modern art your library is not complete without this retrospective.The many color and b&w photographs are superb, and it is accompanied by a solid chronology of Mr. Johns's life.Emphasis is on original works, but includes a good selection of more important lithographs (I recommend the prints Catalog Raisonne by ULAE if you want a complete reference work in this area).A tour de force by Varnedoe and his editing team! ... Read more

Product Description
In a remarkable fusion of criticism and biography, author/critic Jill Johnston illuminates the life and work of America's preeminent living artist, Jasper Johns, responsible for the highly acclaimed The Seasons. Published to coincide with a major exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in October 1996, Johns' first major retrospective in nearly 20 years. 30 illustrations.Amazon.com Review
An artist's private life is often reflected in hiswork. Frequently the private is made public, and often this connectionmakes the work more accessible and interesting. Critic Jill Johnstonhas taken on the task of exploring the life and work of JasperJohns--that most private of contemporary artists--and has succeededbrilliantly. Johnston is not simply out to reveal Johns's gayness butto explore how his sexuality has shaped his life and work. Johnston'scritical eye is unwavering, her ability to delineate political andsocial contexts is unnervingly on-target. The fact that Johns resistedJohnston's efforts at biography gives the book an underlying tensionmaking it even more fascinating. Jasper Johns: PrivilegedInformation is a fine, intelligent work of biography andcriticism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

how dare she
i love jasper johns, how dare she degrade this man. is she jealous? hahaha.
i bet so.
he is one of the twelve riches artist in america. one of the twelve that gets his money. not like some good artist who dont see much of their money...
i have more to say, but dont know how to post.

Love Johns Hate the Book
The deeper I got into this book, the more I disliked it. It is an invasion of privacy...of a person who has decided to try and remain as private and secluded as he can be (which, by the way, is his right to do). I did read with interest as she helped to unravel the complexity behind his paintings, but did not find any interest in her exploration of his deeply personal life. Besides, the author has a tendency to rant and ramble for whole chapters at a time, which I found tedious to say the least. I gave the book 2 stars because I did learn a few things about Johns. But I can't really recommend the book to anyone.

Crude Slant
If you could just pick out some of the info it would be interesting; but her crude slant on everything was rather pathetic.It was like trying to see the big dipper thru a small crack in the wall of an outhouse.

Abandoned
Abandoned?That sorry father of his went to his mothers house and stole him from the playpen which was outside.Those men could do anything and get away with it.The grandfather literally ruled the town.Big Fish in a Wee town.That's the story I heard all my life and there was no reason for mama to lie--she was on the scene at the time.The snoopy author didn't talk to enough people.

One talent wasted besmirching another
May we all live to see the day when the present fad of mixing up biography with criticism ends!Once again a critic (i.e., wannabe artist) does her best to soil the work of a truly creative artist by trying to impose her own notions of his life on his work.Or is it the other wayaround--imposing notions of the work onto the life?It hardly matters--theresult is the same.Nothing of substance is said about either, and in theprocess of saying nothing, she drags in all kinds of ugliness.Of courseall the while, the author is claiming to be a great admirer of Johns, evenas she purveys her gossip and hearsay.Finally, as is usually the casewith such psychographers, she's just revealing her own unsavory motives andhungering ego.The only reason I give the book two stars is that she's nota bad writer.Too bad she had to waste her talent on such aproject. ... Read more

Product Description
Encouraging young readers' visiual and critical thinking skills, this book takes children on a journey of discovery through a selection of artworks by Jasper Johns and by artists who have inspired him. By searching for places where Jasper Johns has hidden himself in his work - some works include images of his face, profile, or his shadow - young readers are introduced, in a highly original and imaginative way, to the work of this unique American artist, and they also discover new ways of looking at visual art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent!!!!!!!!
This book is an exceptional tool in gaining a better understanding of art for children and grown ups alike! ... Read more

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Product Description
This beautifully illustrated and profoundly original volume of essays by the New York poet and critic John Yau mounts one of the most eloquent defenses of the art and vision of Jasper Johns ever written--going well past tired and traditional Formalist readings of the artist's work to propose a completely new way of reading them: One that is intensely human. Praised by renowned American art historian and critic Jack Flam as, "a brilliantly attentive and original reading of Jasper Johns' work," this volume not only makes many aspects of the artist's work accessible for the first time, but also reveals an emotional tenor to the man whom so many critics have characterized, wrongly, according to Yau, as aloof or hermetic.
Expanding upon the ideas he laid out in The United States of Jasper Johns, published in 1996 by Zoland Books, Yau traces the ways that the artist's work conveys a connection to the common experience--a "sense of life" that encompasses thoughts, memory, consumption, excretion, life, death, time and mortality. Yau's readings of the works are broadened by statements from conversations between the poet and artist that have taken place over the course of the last 30 years. Lending to this sense of intimacy, many of the works collected in this volume come directly from the artist's studio or his private collection, and have rarely been reproduced before. According to Flam, "John Yau focuses his attention on how the artist's pioneering paintings relate to life as it is lived--and on what they tell us about what it means to be mortal and alive in time. Along the way, Yau cuts a much-needed clearing through the tangle of narrowly self-reflexive interpretations that have plagued so much critical writing on Johns' work during the past half century--providing a fresh approach and opening our eyes to Johns' accomplishment in revealing ways. This is a groundbreaking book, written with both precision and passion. It should be read by everyone who cares about modern painting."
John Yau is a poet and critic. He is the author of several books, including The Passionate Spectator: Essays on Art and Poetry, Paradiso Diaspora and Borrowed Love Poems, as well as contributions to monographs and catalogues on Joan Mitchell, Jessica Stockholder, Wifredo Lam and Hiroshi Sugimoto. Since 2004, he has been the Arts Editor of the Brooklyn Rail. He has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Yale University and the Maryland Institute College of Art, and is currently an Associate Professor of Critical Studies at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry in 2006-2007. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

In-depth Johns
This book, written byBrooklyn Rail editor John Yau, is an in-depth study of Jasper Johns's art that had been several years in the making prior to its publication and which is the result of several thorough interviews with the artist. Every major painting is explained in detail, tracing the sources and explaining the reasons. Tackling such issues as verticality as a symbol of downfall, color, the relationship between form and background, the importance and significance of objects (brooms, balls,hooks), of body parts (a human thigh and calf in a painting such as "Watchman"), of letters, of words or figures, of signs (in the painting "According to What") etc, this is an erudite text which, at times, is difficult to read, but, then, so is Jasper Johns's art. I, for one, had some misgivings on Johns's late paintings, from the 1980's onward, and this book undoubtedly helped to dissipate them.

Also, the illustrations are first-rate and numerous, which makes the reading easier. ... Read more

Product Description
An unprecedented collection, this volume explores Jasper Johns's art and thought, from all periods of his career, through interviews, published writings, working notes he kept in his sketchbooks and recorded conversations with critics and friends. Also included are previously unpublished images from the artist's sketchbooks. As one of the most influential artists of our times, Johns's work has held a key position in the art of the second half of the 20th century, and has had an immense impact on an extraordinarily diverse array of other artists. This compendium of his ideas was collected from a wide range of sources, many of them difficult to access. The provocative originality and subtlety of Johns's thoughts on art are evident throughout, making this book a vital contribution to the study of the artist.Amazon.com Review
Published in conjunction with the 1996-97 retrospectiveexhibition of Jasper Johns's work at the Museum of Modern Art in NewYork, this book is the very first to place this prolific artist in thecontext of his own words and private writings. This unprecedentedcollection of notes from Johns's private sketchbooks, publishedwritings, interviews, and conversations with critics, friends, andother writers--many never before published in English--is anindispensable reference work for anyone interested in learning moreabout this profound American artist. Also included are 51 rareblack-and-white photographs of the artist at work. ... Read more

Product Description
Jasper Johns made a tremendous impact on Modern art in the twentieth century. As a pioneer of Pop art, he was a key figure in the postwar tradition that brought American art to the forefront of the international scene. This new volume in the MoMA Artist Series, which explores important artists and favorite works in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, guides readers through a dozen of the artist's most memorable achievements. A short and lively essay by Carolyn Lanchner, a former curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum, accompanies each work, illuminating its significance and placing it in its historical moment in the development of Modern art and the artist's own life. This volume provides a unique overview of someone who shaped the development of American art since mid-century and is an excellent resource for readers interested in the stories behind the masterpieces of the Modern canon. ... Read more

Product Description
The underlying subject matter of Jasper Johns' work is not the object represented, but the investigation of how we perceive, label and categorize objects. Published to accompany a traveling exhibition of the same name with stops in Princeton, San Diego and Seattle, Jasper Johns: Light Bulb examines the significance of this common object as an image the artist explored for more than 20 years. The light bulb is the subject of Johns' first sculpture, "Light Bulb I," created in 1958, the year of Johns' first exhibition in New York at the fledgling Leo Castelli Gallery, and has appeared in various media throughout his long career. Bringing together for the first time all of Johns' light bulb sculptures and related drawings and prints--including several drawings and modified prints from the artist's own collection--this volume offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine Johns' practice through a single image and reveals significant relationships between his two- and three-dimensional work. It includes an essay by Dr. Stephanie Hanor, Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and a personal narrative on the creation of one of Johns' light bulb sculptures by the artist and former Johns studio assistant Mark Lancaster. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it."
The catalogue for a traveling exhibition (Princeton,San Diego and Seattle) centered on a recurring image in Johns's work, the light bulb,this small book is an interesting study on the way the artist manages to appropriate a mundane household fixture, through sculpture, drawing or print, and turn it into an icon of our society. The introductory essay is an enlightening study that shows how Johns succeeded in transcending his main inspirational source, i.e.Marcel Duchamp and dadaism, by using a common object "that the mind already knows" and turning, moulding, magnifying it into a work of art. Good-quality illustrations add to the value of this book, which is a worthwhile addition, albeit a small one, to the literature on the artist.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good stuff
A very good book. I used it for a research paper on the New York School and Abstract Expressionism. I focused on Cage, so I didn't read the whole book, but if it is as good as the section on Cage, I'd say it's a very good book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This collector's edition is signed by John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Jasper Johns. It's in perfect condition and in it's original packaging. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A most non-politically correct look at the old south
If you dare to have some of your pet theories about the old Antibellum South challenged, take a look at this unusual little volume! The story of a Black slave that became one of the most famous Protestant preachers of theSouth. The life of John Jasper provides a look at the South from thevantage point of the Preacher himself, with some portions of his sermonsreprinted. A most unusual and unorthodox look at the spirit of his era. ... Read more