Monday 4 September 2006

A painting by Jasper John?




This is not a painting by well-known modern artist Jasper John, who I admire a lot for his limitless creativity. This is a photo by me, Trang the Ridiculous, after a short trip abroad. Image


Does any of you like the works of Jasper John? Some say he's creative, many regard him as a crazy artist whose creativeness has run dry. With little knowledge about arts, I have no idea of Jasper's works. However, I enjoy his paintings out of curiousity and out of my interest in colours and creative work.  


Jasper John is one of the 20th-century modern artists. He sought inspiration in modern technology and its embrace of mechanical methods of reproduction (mass production), and more broadly, modern life in industrial countries under Western influence. Many of his works exhibited mass-produced products, like tinned food, fast food, cartoons, and notably, he focused on exhibiting number one (1) in a variety of colours, and titled his paintings "Number One". If you seek something great behind these works, you will feel disappointed, because the fact is that they contain nothing. There is nothing behind (or inside) a drawing of number one by Jasper John. It's just an image of number one and that is all. What more do we expect from it?


The photo I've attached is taken in Thailand, and I like it because it reminds me of Jasper John. I won't say what is in the image, I prefer to let imagination flow and define it as whatever you want.