Jasper Johns Grey Show at the Met

I have always been a fan of Jasper Johns. Now there is a show at the Met that I want to see. “Jasper Johns: Gray” runs through May 4 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; (212) 535-7710. The NYT ran two interesting stories around this show, Jasper Johns Shows His True Color by Roberta Smith, and The Gray Areas of Jasper Johns by Carol Vogel.

The first one said that, “a half century ago his deadpan paintings of flags and targets helped derail second- and third-generation Abstract Expressionism and changed the way we think about art.” I am old enough to remember this and see his work when it was relatively fresh. I liked it more for its style and playfulness, than the message. He said once, “I started drawing when I was 3, and I’ve never stopped.” I also stated when I was three but stopped for thirty years and only started up again two years ago. I guess I should have stuck with it. My first only published drawing occurred when I was 5 and it appeared in Highlights for Children. The article goes on to review the show

The second article is more personal and talks a bit about his Caribbean house. See what you get if you keep at drawing and you are good. He does not put uch of his own work there because of the weather. The article mentions that, “in 1988 his painting “False Start” (1959) brought $17 million at an auction at Sotheby’s. In 2006 the Hollywood mogul David Geffen sold “False Start” to the Chicago hedge-fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin for $80 million…False Start” thus holds the title of most expensive painting by a living artist and is a star in the Met’s show.” I wonder how much of that he got? I guess enough from these works for his house. However, Jasper adds, “Artists today know more. They are aware of the market more than they once were. There seems to be something in the air that art is commerce itself…I haven’t really been a part of it, although I’m sure in some way I am. It just doesn’t interest me.” When you are this original and good you can stand above the market, and in fact, make your own market.