Jasper Johns: Mind/Mirror at THE WHITNEY MUSEUM

[@sonnycorbi1970]

You’ve outdone yourself James. - A CLASSIC -

[@reaganwiles_art]

One of my first favorite painters: it was the look and the smell of paint that first got me, Van Gogh, Johns, Josef Albers, Bacon (strange bedfellows to be sure, but there's no accounting for taste, but the paint!) these iconic images impasto the smells of varnish oil and turpentine when I visited a new British painting exhibit at a local regional gallery SECCA in Winston Salem NC. I've painted ever since, just me, in total obscurity and isolation here in nomansland, rural NC, which is quite beautiful, but I miss visiting galleries, something I did frequently before, during and after college - over 20 years ago

[@nattyw495]

Thank you for doing this video tour greatly enjoyed your commentary on the pieces show....🎨

[@chuck5421lu]

Great job James. I could see this fantastic show thank to you, from an amazing and extensive body of work of Jasper Jones, regards from Florida.

[@janetdowda7296]

You are so informative! Thank you! I would never have seen this exhibition otherwise. San Miguel, Mexico

[@reaganwiles_art]

This, what you do James Kalm, is priceless to me. This is gorgeous. I live with elderly parents who give no f#@*s about art, and it means the world to me. The big de Kooning retro you covered has been with me ever since I first saw your videos a couple yrs ago. Thank you!

[@johnjones3714]

As always James I enjoy your commentary.

[@davidsball]

Thank You James!

[@rosevan5485]

Thank you so much for your videos and your work.

[@LiquidArtEnergyProductions]

With beautiful art wondering the mind, cup of coffee in hand, I'm feeling fine! Zitchin! Thanks James and Kate (Very soothing indeed, your voice of art need...)

[@salvadorblancocasalins6526]

Thank you for sharing it James, greetings from Colombia

[@juliamargaretcameron]

If I were you- attending this exhibit would become unbearable due to the excruciating noise level of people yaking away. So at least we have you to get a glimpse of what looks to be a must see show. My dominant impression is what an exquisite draughtsman John is, as well as such a graceful sense of touch in his paintings. In fact-I'm tempted to say on the level of Leonardo Da Vinci. The most simple pieces are the ones I swoon over. For example- the smaller painting with a little circular mirror, gray field and pine wood at around 46 minutes on..Also-the one Jerry Saltz commented on with the arched hanging piece of string. Both-worth the price of the ticket to take the time to see in person. Thanks for making this important document, James. One of the most important you've yet done.

[@jameskalm]

Thanks for your thoughtful response, and kind words @juliamargaretcameron...JK

[@LondonandAvignon]

Excellent visit. Thank you.

[@JohnBrown-be6re]

whoa!... thats a knockout show, many thanks for sharing this film...

[@sesvaoffice8331]

fantastic exhibition that you've made possible for an art nut in Australia. your prodigious knowledge makes for brilliant commentary - thank you JK & K

[@robinjones3136]

LUV THE INTRO! Those are some talented musicians! Thanks, JAMES! THANKS, KATE! Excellent show!

[@barbarabartels5449]

Thanks James! This is art history!!!

[@lieschenart]

First and foremost and as always, thank you Kate! What a wonderful, well made of this excellent exhibition of one of the greatest US artist Jasper Johns. It was worth to watch and listen the whole 1hour and 17 minutes. A great plesure.

[@pollyjeanmartin2150]

I absolutely loved seeing this. Thank you so much. You've made an artist in Manchester, United Kingdom very happy!

[@markpx]

When do marks become signifiers? When does a scribble become a spoon? I don’t know if this has been said before, but I love how John playfully straddles the line between markings on a surface, - scribbles, doodles, rubbings, drips, smears, random slashes of paint - and the emergence of meaning in the form of alphabets, words, objects, language. In this regard he reminds me of his contemporary, Cy Twombly.

[@barbarabartels5449]

who paints like this anymore? Beautiful texture, subtle contrast, everything here, a genius, he can die very happy!

[@marcocelentani6680]

Amazing video and incredible timing... Just needed it :) thanks

[@jamesgasowski5056]

what an awesome show!! wish it would come to the coast!

[@TD-qi2rw]

Wow!! Thanks Kate!!

[@boandersson9134]

Fantastic tour! I look again and again. Mr Johns hiding in all this its a ridle you get closer to solve.

[@jlarrify]

Thank you Kate, thank you James. Maybe I can't make it out so I appreciate this. And always nice to see the usual suspects. Jerry, Salle, etc

[@somemovingpictures]

Great! Thanks.

[@davidhahnbirds]

Thank you.

[@jeffriley2218]

That was fantastic James. Am thinking of flying out from Santa Fe to see this in person. Thank you Kate. Loved the cameos too.

[@luciemaragni]

Thank you James so much

[@stephenjohn0]

Fabulous show wish I could see it.You made a valiant job of covering it all be it very frenetic, lots of things I hadn't seen, I would have loved more lingering over the Savarin prints, in fact the prints deserve a whole session to themselves. I recall the De Kooning show you covered in 3 videos, I think a painter like Johns deserves a similar in depth view. But wow the whole thing is a knockout, congrats to the curators and to you and of course Kate.

[@jameskalm]

Hey @stephenjohn0 actually, the de Kooning video was posted so long ago that, at the time, all KZbin programs were limited to 10 minutes, so I had to slice up the file to fit. This video is something like an hour and fifteen minutes so it's more than twice as long...JK

[@5000friends]

Thank you from Vienna full of joy

[@jayantb1]

Thank you very much Sir. Best Wishes.

[@reynru]

Thank you Kate!

[@pablopicoso]

The first 54 pages of Other Criteria by Steinberg is a great source for a must read on Johns. Ending with “… Johns puts two flinty things in a picture and makes them work against one another so hard that the mind is sparked. Seeing them becomes thinking.”

[@jackgalmitz]

The most impressive body of work I have ever seen.

[@heljestrand]

And don’t forget his subtle collab on the Erased de Kooning. Thank you Kate.

[@boandersson9134]

Great done!

[@tonybteacher]

Could be a super-spreader Sharon Butler.. :)x

[@TD-qi2rw]

one more thought, I do see a Cezanne influence in his early work. The brush strokes and red, yellow , blue construction.

[@jaydubya3698]

Two things: 1. In looking at this show, I think you're absolutely right about Johns in relation to Basquiat and Warhol. I respect Warhol and his ideas, but his work doesn't do much for me. I love JMB. But Johns...wow. Not only the volume of work, but the consistent quality, the ideas, the range. Unreal. 2. Jerry Saltz recently wrote a really good article about Johns in which he talked about not only some of his art work, but also about what Johns is like as a person. Very interesting piece...if you haven't had a chance to read it, check it out.

[@jhb61249]

I believe the Frank Ohara drawing was done by Larry Rivers. The two had an intimate affair off and on and off again in between Larry's affairs with his girlfriend. Larry also did work commemorating Frank's death. Nice job. Thanks guy and Kate

[@stefanhausmusic]

the red and blue dots on the most recent painting SLICE are galaxies, over the map of the universe - given to Johns by a scientist. The knot mixed with the map comes from da Vinci. all that mixed with the knee drawing? our knowledge of the universe and its secrets is broken, hence impossible? its pretty consistent with the entire of his work. However, that doesn't mean we ought to follow his path.

[@tonsfocus]

You put it exactly right, that it's very hard to see some of these "textbook" works with fresh eyes. I try to imagine what a strike of lightning it must have been to have a painter make these sumptuous and deadpan American flag paintings. They still maintain a subdued beauty which hangs by its fingernails from falling to just pure objectivity. Other times, I feel like some of his work is too didactic, too high school art "nerdy" in a sense. But, again, how can one know what these works brought into the world if one wasn't there at the inception, back in the 50s and 60s? I love the U.S. map at 20:30, the novel and fetching skeleton motifs at 1:05:00 and all the life buried beneath the surfaces of "Regrets" at 1:06:30 and "Farley Breaks Down.." at 1:10:00. Thank you once again for being the fiber optic cable plugged into the art cathedral of NYC for all of us outside. You are irreplaceable... Thank you James. Thank you Kate!

[@jameskalm]

Thanks for your prodigious response @tonsfocus, there's a lot to ponder here...JK

[@tonsfocus]

@@jameskalm Ha ha! My verbosity is just a feeble attempt pay your generosity back with a little extra attention. Thank you x 1 million.

[@MikeWitmerNatureJournal]

When Johns activated a flat image with brushstrokes it was akin to what Cezanne did when he demonstrated his revolutionary way of presenting landscape or still life, relating it to the rectangle and flat surface of the canvas. While he is probably known more for his being a part of "pop" art he is also a lot more due to his sophisticated formalist approach.

[@robsmith588]

akin to Cezanne you must be joking

[@MikeWitmerNatureJournal]

@@robsmith588 Nope

[@ohdandan]

Johns seems to be a very well adjusted person who likes to be an artist and have a lot of ideas.

[@michaelrowe1907]

Thank you Kate

[@ninanometa]

After all, it's real footage, so it feels real. Rather than the video I made with photos... Well done.

[@gavinyates9189]

Thank you Kate thank you everybody.

[@MegaZidzid]

Very nice.

[@stevenikitas8170]

I have often said semi tongue-in-cheek that "color is irrelevant to art". Johns seems to subscribe to my theory in many of his works.

[@TD-qi2rw]

Gray , was also in Chicago. Time fly's for sure!

[@TD-qi2rw]

@normskimonger Does this reply come from planet earth

[@ekirla1]

mega thanks

[@helengory1]

fabulous, thankyou- for us aussies down under HG

[@stiggmatic]

Hi James , thanks so much for shooting this and posting , such a valuable documentation of a once in a life time event , especially for those of us who could not get there , any chance you'll do the same in Philly before this ends? thanks Thomas

[@italogiardina8183]

The advice a famous artist gives pertaining to their practice is riddled with ambiguity.

[@bryandibucci583]

66 is nice. Does the artist become THE CARPENTER.

[@skylarkportraitstudio]

It may be heresy of a kind to say this but here goes … John’s work has never moved me in the least at any level. I’ve seen a lot of it and listened intently to people who seem truly impressed by it tell me why it moves them. But no. It doesn’t speak to me at all. Cold and remote obsessions, one after another, are all I see.

[@senglomein5766]

I enjoy Johns' humor here and there, but agree with your sentiment, for the most part. There are works in this show that peak my genuine interest, but there are many others----that I have nothing pleasant to say of.

[@billnickels6667]

You're being a bit sparky with jasper. What's up? Are you passed at the Whitney? John's? Bitter?

[@jameskalm]

I'm not a "bit sparky with jasper". This was just a huge show, hundreds of works, and I've got a lot of work to do, in a limited amount of time...

[@billnickels6667]

@@jameskalm apologies.

[@jameskalm]

@@billnickels6667 No apologies required. I've just got a lot on my plate...Thanks...

[@billnickels6667]

@@jameskalm i wrote that in the first minute or two. Not at all the case as you brought the rest of your video.. thank you for bringing this to me way out in Tennessee. I was snarky.

[@ritazita1111]

A few minutes in I became dizzy with the overly lively camera action ---I had to click away unfortunately.

[@jimkenny4976]

Mary beth edelson

[@robsmith588]

It strikes me Johns just endlessly recycles his own tropes, flags coffee cans brushes letters maps etc.

[@davidbertrand895]

Much of this is out of focus. Aaaughh!

[@chewingstring]

Unwatchable with so many historical mistakes… get a better mike

[@Wfhii]

Name brand art. Masked zombies eating it up.

[@TheSanityMachine33]

LOL

[@pollyjeanmartin2150]

Don't be so bitter, little man. Open your mind first and your mouth later.

[@pacolane1756]

Smart paintings. Dumb masks.

[@pacolane1756]

Thank you Jerry for taking yours off to talk. 😀

[@pacolane1756]

Thank you Kate🙏🏾🇺🇸

[@thirdrockjul2224]

Thank you Kate