Jasper Johns-Inspired Collages/Candy Wrapper

PaintingsWhat does the material you use say

about the subject you are portraying?

Jasper Johns

• Born in 1930 Georgia• Raised in South Carolina• Studied art, moved to New York in 1948• Served in the Korean War• Returned to New York after the war in 1953• Became friends with Robert Rauschenberg and

Abstract Expressionists Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning

• Recognized for his printmaking skills

Jasper Johns

• Invented a new style in the 1950s that helped inspire Pop Art– Described as a controlled rather than spontaneous

form of Abstract Expressionism• Liked to make art from “things the mind

already knows”– American Flag– Maps of the USA– Images in Pop Culture

Jasper Johns

• Meaning is fluid and open to interpretation• Believed that you could vastly change the

interpretation/meaning of something BLANDLY familiar just by changing its:– Color– Context– Medium used to create it (i.e., what if someone made

the American Flag out of garbage? Would it still mean the same thing as an American Flag flying in front of our school?)

Map; Jasper Johns; 1961; Conceptual Art/Pop Art; Encaustic, Oil, and Collage

Flag; Jasper Johns; 1960-1966; Encaustic and Collage on CanvasEncaustic is wax…what properties does wax have? Can it melt?

Can you shape manipulate it?

Assignment

• Since pop art uses imagery and concepts from pop culture, you will create a painting using actual remains of pop culture: candy and food wrappers (or other re-purposed materials that reflect pop culture)!

• What do specific wrappers communicate on their own?

• Remember to consider what the wrappers will say about your subject:– If your subject is known for being angry, use “angry”

wrappers, like warheads, starbursts, or hot tamales.

Assignment Continued

• The under-painting will consist of the wrappers, and you will add touches of paint here and there for shading (if desired)

• You can choose to create a pop icon using wrappers or to create something entirely different with the wrappers, but the wrappers must be specific to your subject!

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Laura Benjamin (New York Artist)

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

My Example