Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

The Critic Smiles

Artist/Maker Jasper Johns (United States, b. 1930)

Date1966

Mediumhand colored lithograph

DimensionsSight: 12 7/8 x 11 1/8 in. (32.7 x 28.3 cm)
Sheet: 25 1/4 x 20 1/4 in. (64.1 x 51.4 cm)

ClassificationsVisual Works

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Terms

Object number66.124.000

DescriptionIn The Critic Smiles, artificial gold teeth, arranged like the bristles of a toothbrush, wryly symbolize the materialistic critic, who is either art consuming or consumed by art. Through this image Johns connects viewer and critic, transforming the former into the latter. Perhaps the title suggests the viewing response that Johns wishes to elicit. The lithograph derives from a sculptmetal model executed in 1961, which in turn, is thought to be related to a drawing from the late fifties. The words gold, silver, and lead have been printed in reverse. It has been said that the development of Pop art in New York was predicated upon the achievements of Jasper Johns. Johns, who was born in Georgia and educated in South Carolina, moved to New York in 1952, where he did window display work.

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