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Freedom

Jasper Johns, Flag, 1983, encaustic on silk flag on canvas, 11 5/8 x 17 1/2 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2014.27. © Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photography by Edward C. Robison III.

Additional Resources

Blog - Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art debuts Jasper Johns' Flag on Flag Day Weekend

Smart History

Jasper Johns
Flag

  • Where else do you typically see the American flag? How does a painting of the American flag make you feel in comparison to the actual object?
  • Why do you think the artist chose to paint such a familiar symbol that evokes strong emotions?

The American flag kindles a response in everyone. The flag also holds personal meaning for Jasper Johns, who was named for an ancestor famous for rescuing a flag during the Revolutionary War. Yet in Flag, Johns charges us to look beyond the image to the application of paint itself, which is as important a subject for the artist as any recognizable theme.

This painting contains an actual silk flag, collaged on the canvas, as its base layer. Johns then painted an image of the flag on top using encaustic, a sticky medium of colored pigment mixed with hot wax. Encaustic emphasizes each brushstroke and individualizes each star, animating Flag’s entire surface.

Throughout his career, Johns has returned to the same subjects again and again: flags, targets, letters, and numbers. These images, recognizable to everyone, but divorced from their original context, were a way for Johns to focus our attention on the thing itself: the painting. His work also helped to introduce popular imagery as a subject for art.

  • What does the American flag stand for? Does it mean the same thing to different people?
  • The American flag is one of several symbols that creates an understanding of America's history, principles, and aspirations. How does the meaning of this symbol change depending on when we view it? What does it mean to us today?

Content Contributors

Exhibition sponsored by Kenneth C. Griffin

Learning and engagement programming for
We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy is sponsored by:

Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr. Foundation | Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates, & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. | Johnny and Jeanie Morris, Bass Pro Shops | Alturas Foundation | Harriet and Warren Stephens, Stephens Inc. | Sotheby’s | Bob and Becky Alexander | Marybeth and Micky Mayfield | Lamar and Shari Steiger | Jeff and Sarah Teague / Citizens Bank | Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities | Avis and Bill Bailey | Scarlett and Neff Basore | June Carter Family | Terri and Chuck Erwin | Jackye and Curtis Finch | The Harrison and Rhonda French Family | Jim and Susan von Gremp | Laurice Hachem | Shannon and Charles Holley | Valorie and Randy Lawson / Lawco Energy Group | Donna and Mack McLarty | Steve and Susan Nelson | Neal and Gina Pendergraft | Helen Porter | JT and Imelda Rose | Lee and Linda Scott | Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Catherine and Michael Mayton, Trustees | William Reese Company

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