I really dig this Slice painting by Jasper Johns. It is very cool looking and it’s got a great story as well. Not to mention it’s an unlikely collaboration.

What sort of art would you get from an astrophysicist, a basketball player from Central Africa and a world-famous artist?

You would get Slice….You would also get intellectual property lawsuits….

Cameroon-born basketball player, Jéan-Marc Togodgue and Jasper Johns share an orthopedic surgeon. Jean Marc drew a picture of a knee for his surgeon as a token of appreciation. Jasper saw it and was so inspired that he included it in his painting of outer space, Slice. It looks like it is merely taped on the picture, but Jasper actually painted it on there! It is a technique known as Trompe-l’œil, or trick the eye.

But wait, there’s more! In 2018, astrophysicist, Margaret Gellar had sent Jasper a picture of Slice of the Universe, a 1986 star map showing the distribution of nearby galaxies. Jasper really liked the way the galaxy markers formed a stick-figure in the center. So he copied it. I think he told her that it might inspire some art, though.

Curious to know your thoughts on this…

#art, #artist, #inspiration, #jasperjohns, #painting, #slice