Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns, the art world’s resident trickster, is a man who famously dreamt of painting an American flag and then, unlike the rest of us who just hit snooze, actually did it. This supposedly led to a career of turning everyday objects like flags, targets, and numbers into high art, leaving critics to endlessly debate if his work was a patriotic cheer or a subtle jeer. A master of the deadpan, Johns once quipped his favorite book about his art was in Japanese, as he couldn't understand a word of it. Rumor has it his very name might be a patriotic nod to Sergeant William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero, a story his father told him that he admits may or may not be true. Another tall tale whispers that after a party, a damaged "Flag" painting was discreetly patched up with a piece of a comic strip. He’s an artist who encourages you to look at the familiar until it becomes strange, and then he’ll probably just tell you, "Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it."