Jasper Johns

Johns used the flag because it was already a familiar sign, not a private invention. His Flag from 1954-1955 was made with encaustic, newspaper, and fabric, turning a national symbol into a painted object.

Encaustic is a technique using pigment mixed with hot wax. Johns used it in Flag from 1954-1955, which gives the surface a layered, physical texture rather than a flat printed look.

Johns is not simply a Pop artist, but his use of flags, targets, and numbers helped open the path to Pop Art. His work sits between Abstract Expressionism's painterly surface and the later interest in everyday signs.

Johns repeatedly used targets, numbers, maps, and stenciled letters. These subjects let him explore recognition, repetition, and the difference between an image and the thing it names.