Figure 9 (ULAE 321)
10 1/2 x 8 inchesFigure 9 (ULAE 321), 2012
image: 7 × 5 3/8 inches
paper: 10 1/2 x 8 inches
frame: 12 x 9 1/2 inches
edition: 40 with 10 APs, 3 PPs and 1 TP
signed & dated in pencil "J Johns 12" lower right numbered in pencil lower left
published by Universal Limited Art Editions, Bay Shore, New York, with their blindstamp
printed by John Lund, Jason Miller and Bill Goldston
This is one of ten lithographs made by Jasper Johns to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
© 2024 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Provenance
Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York
Private Collection, New York
Literature
To be included in the forthcoming update to: The Prints of Jasper Johns: A Catalogue Raisonne, ULAE, New York, Catalogue Reference ULAE 321.
Selected Museum Collections
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Additional Photos
Image Detail
Signature & Date lower right
Edition number & ULAE blinstamp lower left
Of all Johns's recurrent motifs, none has appeared more consistently in his oeuvre than numbers. From the 1950's until today, Jasper Johns has created more than 170 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures that feature numerals in one of four principal structures: as individual figures; as superimpositions; and in sequences of zero to nine, either in two stacked rows or arranged in larger grids. Like flags, mapsand targets, Jasper Johns numbers are pre-existing signs open to a variety of aesthetic and interpretative operations. Yet unlike his other motifs, numbers inherently suggest a recursive stream of endless proliferation. They are part of a combinatory system with a given order that can repeat and unspool over and over again. They lack any essential scale or innate color and so offer a perfect matrix for formal experimentation and play. In Jasper Johns' work, numerals zoom in and out of scale and focus; flicker from one color to the next; and disappear into busy grounds or emerge declaratively from them.
JASPER JOHNS NUMBERS
Of all Johns's recurrent motifs, none has appeared more consistently in his oeuvre than numbers. From the 1950's until today, Jasper Johns has created more than 170 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures that feature numerals in one of four principal structures: as individual figures; as superimpositions; and in sequences of zero to nine, either in two stacked rows or arranged in larger grids. Like flags, mapsand targets, Jasper Johns numbers are pre-existing signs open to a variety of aesthetic and interpretative operations. Yet unlike his other motifs, numbers inherently suggest a recursive stream of endless proliferation. They are part of a combinatory system with a given order that can repeat and unspool over and over again. They lack any essential scale or innate color and so offer a perfect matrix for formal experimentation and play. In Jasper Johns' work, numerals zoom in and out of scale and focus; flicker from one color to the next; and disappear into busy grounds or emerge declaratively from them.
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Printmaking inherently involves reversal and reproduction, two hallmarks of Johns' art. Throughout his paintings and drawings, he often flips compositions left to right or top to bottom. He mirrors patterns around a seam or impresses surfaces with implements he sometimes leaves stuck to them. All this happens more easily, if not automatically, in printmakingand over the years his work in that medium has amplified his fascination with these operations on canvas. Without the aid of an offset press, the image on the matrix necessarily mirrors what is printed on the paperand a plate can just as effortlessly be rotated before the next proof is pulled. But the greater conceptual correspondence between Johns's printmaking and the rest of his art lies in its essentially systematic and lerative procedures. Johns often works recursively from one painting to the next to the one after that. An image frequently returns-sometimes years and even decades later-in a different size, medium or palette.
Prints both collapse and extend this modality. On the one hand, an individual image may depostioner successive discrete campaigns on a matrix, sometimes flowed by the sequential superimposition of multiple plates.
”What interests me is the technical innovation possible for me in printmaking.” John’s remarked in 1969. For Johns, each technique suggests its unique quality and possibility. Lithography allows “great facility”; the etching plate can ”store multiple layers of information”; and silkscreen is “best used for images which require sharp edges and smooth-textured, flat, clear areas of color.” These techniques are not rote instruments for realizing a preconceived end but instead “make up the life of the work really,” as Johns has said. “They are real concerns and make the working process a very lively activity, something other than the reproduction of an image; they alter what ‘image’ is."
The condition of Jasper Johns prints plays a pivotal role in preserving the integrity and value of these artworks. The presence of mat staining, fox marks and attenuated colors can significantly impact the overall aesthetic and historical integrity of these artworks. When considering a purchase of a Jasper Johns print, it is crucial to be wary of dealers who claim prints are in good condition despite such issues, as this may be a deliberate attempt to mislead buyers. Transparency is imperative in the art market and dealers who purposefully omit condition details are not acting in the best interest of the collector. It is also advisable to avoid dealers who artificially enhance colors in photos, distorting the true condition of the artwork. Choosing dealers who provide accurate representations, even if it reveals imperfections, ensures that buyers make well-informed decisions, maintaining the authenticity and value of Jasper Johns prints over time.
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