Two Flags (ULAE 212) , 1980

Though often included among the luminaries of 20th century pop artists in America, Jasper Johns’ work was also counted amongst the Neo-Dadaist and abstract expressionism movements. Johns’ work utilized imagery and figures found in popular culture, however, it was their composition using unlikely materials and their juxtaposition against other what make transcend the pop aesthetic. Throughout his career, Johns held several records for ‘most expensive artworks by living artists’ at the most prestigious auction houses in the world. One of his seminal pieces, Flag, which was inspired by a dream he had in the mid 1950’s following his service in the Korean War, would inspire a series of pieces based on the American flag, and would become one his flagship works.

Being part of this iconic series, Two Flags pays tribute to Flag by recreating it in a monochromatic vision. Johns substitutes the bright and vibrant renderings of the colored piece he produced to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Whitney Museum of American Art, for a myriad of achromic strokes and patterns, achieving a similarly striking boldness.