Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns (b. 1930) grew up the son of a farmer in Augusta, Georgia. After studying briefly at the University of South Carolina, he moved to New York City and began studies at the Parsons School of Design. In 1949, he was drafted by the Army and stationed in Japan during the Korean War. After his time in the military he returned to New York where he lived for a time with fellow artist, Robert Rauschenberg. Starting in the 1950's Johns's work explored a number of concepts and symbols, and he worked with wax encaustic, paint, sculpture, plaster relief, and found objects. His work contains elements of Pop Art and Abstraction, but he is often described as a Neo-Dadaist.