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Page 8- The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, December 10, 1991
Art review
Pop artist Johns
repeats, disappoints
The Jasper Johns Prints
(from the Kaufman Collection)
University Museum of Art
Jasper Johns is important to the
history of art as an artist whose
work bridges the gap between ab-
stract expressionism and pop art.
Like his abstract expressionist pre-
decessors Jackson Pollock and
Willem de Kooning, Johns uses
highly arbitrary, subjective brush-
strokes and patterns. Johns, how-
ever; combines these with a series of
repeated, meaningless images
(analogous to Andy Warhol's
Campbell's Soup cans) such as num-
bers, letters, beer cans, cans of
paintbrushes and, most notably,
flags. This combination of person-
ally expressive, subjective brush-
strokes and objective, common ob-
jects is intended to create a vivid
contrast and tension in Johns' work.
This tension is intended to high-
light. common objects which are
normally taken for granted and to
show them in a new light. This
theme of highlighting everyday ob-
jects has been explored in depth by
other pop artists like Roy Lichten-
stein and Warhol.
Johns' technique rests heavily on
his ability to create tension in his
work. The current exhibit of his
prints in the Kaufman collection, on
display at the University Museum
of Art, is a decidedly mixed bag that
ultimately reflects the career of
this often overrated artist. While
much of Johns' work achieves its
goals, banality often occurs in his
work when the contrast between his
technique and his repeated forms is
not clearly manifested.
The outlines of the images fea-
tured in the lithograph prints are
exactly the same in each print.
Johns, however, "colors in" each
print differently. Some prints have
boldly-colored patterned lines,
some have a mixture of scribbles
and shading, and others use heavy ar-
eas of solid darks and lights.
Of the works featured in the ex-
hibit, the earliest ones tend to be the
most interesting. "Figure 3" and
"Figure 8" (from the series Figures
0-9, Black and White Numerals)
show glimmers of abstract expres-
sionism, with Johns' swirling
scribbles set against the dark-toned
paper. Johns' Voice, which looks
like a waterfall of white against a
jet black background, achieves rare,
splattering textures, which contrast
with the silverware and the word
"Voice," which are placed at the
bottom of the piece. Two Flags, in
RECORDS
Continued from page 5
ing past and present trends toward
an exciting future.
We also hear Prince's new band,
the New Power Generation, making
good his promise of a better groove.
Drummer Michael Bland cuts up the
time with solid, complex fills and
changes. Bass player Sonny T. tough-
ens up Prince's airy arrangements,
while Levi Seacer Jr., the bass player
from the Lovesexy band, noodles
and riffs funkily away at a rhythm
guitar now.
The biggest musical surprise is
"Willing And Able," a sparse
gospel-blues workout, with fluor-
ishes of guitar also approaching an
Eastern sensibility. The Steeles belt
out airy vocals that soar over the
guitar groove and crash against the
splotchy hits of keyboardist Tom-
my Barbarella. Prince tops all of
this off with a rap from vocalist
Tony M., who hums in as if from a
separate radio station. Prince's new-
found audacity makes these songs as
disarming and challenging as any-
thing from his earlier albums.
From there, Daddy Pop's funk
comes in blurts and spurts, such as
the menacing "Gett Off," with its
catchy, idiosyncratic vocals and neo-
hippie flute hooks over a big beat.
Or "Jughead," a dance commercial
that features eccentric raps (Prince
says, "Don't worry if you're lookin
silly/ Just look over here at me,
workin 4 Willie") over a Clinton-
flavored groove, complete with vo-
cal thumps. While Prince is brazen
enough to explore musical hybrids
throughout, from the Oriental
whistle-driven balladry of "Insa-
tiable" to the lounge frolic of
"Strollin"' tohthe psychedelic funk
pop of "Cream," his lyrics remain
generally simplistic and unaffected.
"Walk Don't Walk," for ex-
ample, voices its message in ques-
tions: "Walk on their side of the
street?/ Don't walk where it feels
the best?/ Walk away from people
U meet?/Don't talk 2 strangers un-
less they walk the way U want
them 2?" Or the simplistic "Push,"
which is reminiscent of Sly Stone in
its brief imperatives: "Push -
don't let them get U down/ Push -
until U get a higher ground/ Push
- U're never 2 young, never 2 old/
Push - don't stop until U go."
Prince's vocal lineup is more
reminiscent of Sly's Family Stone,
as well. The one voice more power-
ful than his, that of powerhouse
Rosie Gaines, covers all the ground
he leaves behind, while Tony M.
takes thelower register with a
braggadocio of deep growls and
shouts. After the overwhelming
cornucopia of voices we heard on-'
Graffiti Bridge, this new lineup
seems almost disappointing, and
certainly self-limiting on Princes,,.-
part. Likewise, "Push" utilizes
bizarre turntable backspins and ef...
fects to make up for its lack of a
central groove. Prince continues to,
de-emphasize the bass line, and a
good horn section like the ones used
in Parade or Lovesexy wouldn't
have hurt the arrangements, either.
Still, Prince's career continues to
be a series of discoveries and ex-
periments. Ultimately, we must,---
take what we can. The laid-back tune
"Money Don't Matter 2 Night"
and the closer "Live 4 Love" both
lead us to believe that Prince's fixa-,11-.
tion on diamonds and pearls is little:.
more than a lure. Ultimately, he re-
jects the superficial beauty of matey
rial objects - "That's when U find
out that U're better off/ Makin sure
that your soul's alright/ Cuz money
didn't matter yesterday/ And it sure
don't matter 2 night" - and instead
tells the listener to "Live 4 love,
with love U don't live."
While some of Prince's mor,-
abstract and complicated themes
have been quite vague in the past, his
message in Diamonds And Pearls
gels effectively. Drawing a distinct
dichotomy between the scornful ob-
jects of material value and the force
that he believes will carry us
through this existence, his direction
is unquestionable. So while the Pop
Daddy still doesn't mind taking us-
to a place of spiritual anarchy and,
playing with us, it's good to get '
solid Prince statement as well.
-Forrest Green.iL
Save the LP.
DAILY ARTS
Jaspar Johns' 1977 work Savarin, a lithograph from 17 plates, is part of
the Kaufman Collection, on display at the University Museum of Art.
which different forms and textures
emerge which suggest corpses and
bulletholes, can be viewed as a
protest of America's involvement
in Vietnam.
Few of the other prints, how-
ever, exhibit this same intensity.
Most of the prints done in the late
'70s and early '80s do not show the
same daring and deep search for new
discoveries as his earlier work. The
patterns Johns chooses in these
prints become as uninvolving as his
set of repeated images. As Johns re-
peats the same sets of lines and
fields of black and white over and
over in print after print, the excite-
ment of the work and the interest of
the viewer lag.
Still, the exhibit is a valuable
representation of an artist's career,
and should not be missed by his
loyal fans and aficionados of pop
art.
-Aaron Hamburger
i
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