Joseys Art School Episode #85 Jasper Johns Alphabet Kids Art Lesson Fine...

 

Born in 1930, American artist Jasper Johns became famous by painting everyday, familiar things like the American flag, numbers, and the alphabet. Instead of painting imaginary scenes, he used objects everyone already knew to change how people look at art. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

He Painted a Flag Because of a Dream

Jasper Johns woke up from a dream in 1954 where he had painted a big American flag.
The very next year, he turned that dream into reality by creating his most famous painting, Flag. [1, 2]

He Used Melted Hot Wax

Instead of using regular liquid paint alone, Johns loved using an ancient technique called encaustic.
He mixed his colors with hot, melted wax. It dried super fast and made his paintings feel bumpy, thick, and rough. [1, 2, 3, 4]

He Hid Real Objects in His Art

Johns did not just paint flat pictures. He sometimes glued real newspapers, pieces of plastic, or beer cans right onto his canvases and sculptures.
He wanted people to look at ordinary things as real physical objects instead of just pictures on a wall.
 
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