Universe And Little Guy

an untitled 2021 jasper johns work on paper is largely black with a vector map of slice of the universe, a contruction of red and blue dots representing, i think, galaxies or galaxy clusters along threads reaching across space, with a concentration in the center that bears an unusual resemblance to a stick figure spiderman, which may feel more prominent because the trompe l'oeil sheet of paper taped to the center right of the composition is of a lone stick figure with a raised brush, a familiar johns motif, here seemingly drawin in graphite. via matthew marks gallery
Jasper Johns, Untitled, 2021, acrylic and graphite over etching on paper, 16⅞ × 21⅛ in., via Matthew Marks

I’d like to go back to contemplating one little guy confronting the slice of the universe that looks, now that you mention it, a lot like a stick figure, please.

[tbf I was actually looking back through these recent shows from after the CR cutoff, to find out how wrong I might be about Johns only making one alphabet painting by looking for when the sign language alphabet motif came in, and did it happen in any paintings, and I don’t think so, even though I remember thinking there sure was a lot of sign language alphabet in one of those Marks shows, but maybe it’s all in prints and works on paper? And then yes, there is sometimes a very prominent stencil of the entire alphabet behind that skeleton getting worked on by the little guys, but not in the paintings, or at least not in the ones he showed. But after 60 years, Johns should feel free to revisit a motif if he wanted, and making it the stencil tool, not the letters themselves, does help rein in the chaos a bit.]