Illuminating Jasper Johns

The exhibit, "Jasper Johns: Light Bulb," is quiet and unassuming, much like the artist himself. It does not attempt to be comprehensive, but instead presents the light bulb motif as a lens through which to understand Johns' work. As the subject of Johns' first sculpture in 1958 and his last sculpture in 1970, the light bulb played an important role in the artist's career. The Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego, which organized the exhibition, collected every image of a light bulb produced by Johns, many of which had never before been exhibited.

Ironically, the symbolic iconography of the light bulb itself is not central to the viewer's understanding of the exhibit; rather, the show focuses on Johns' formal treatment of the bulb as a mundane object. Johns was a strong advocate of art for art's sake and never claimed to have any agenda in representing certain objects. "I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without a conscious reason," Johns said in a book by Christel Hollevoet. Though Johns' comments apply specifically to painting, their ambivalent sentiment regarding artistic content can be applied to his artwork in general. In this case, the concentration on a single object allows the exhibit to show Johns' interest in experimenting with many different artistic techniques.

The exhibit begins with an introduction to Jasper Johns' work and gives an overview of the importance of the light bulb in his career. Drawings and prints are displayed chronologically along the walls, with sculptures scattered in the center of the room. The exhibit focuses on the connection between the two-dimensional drawings and the three-dimensional sculptures, but it is difficult to fully comprehend the connection because the sculptures are not integrated into the display of two-dimensional works. The description of Johns' first sculpture follows his last print, which throws off the flow of the exhibit. The exhibit would have been more successful with a better juxtaposition of Johns' sculptures, prints and drawings.

Despite the poorly placed sculpture display, the exhibit offers a unique way of looking at an often-exhibited artist. Most museum-goers recognize Jasper Johns for his American flag or target series. For those of you want to delve further, this exhibit will force you to think about the artist's whole career and not just a few of his most famous works.