This 1955 painting depicts a standard archery target overlaid with four plaster casts of human faces, arranged in a row across the top. The work combines recognizable imagery with abstract expressionist influences, blurring the lines between representation and abstraction. The encaustic technique, using pigmented beeswax, lends a textured, almost sculptural quality to the surface.
The piece is significant within Johns’ oeuvre and the broader art historical context for its challenge to conventional notions of art. By utilizing commonplace objects and recognizable forms, the artist questions the very definition of art and the relationship between image and object. The work anticipates Pop Art’s embrace of popular culture while maintaining a connection to Abstract Expressionism’s focus on surface and process. It raises questions about perception, identity, and the nature of seeing, prompting viewers to reconsider how they interpret familiar symbols.
