Jasper Johns, Tennyson, 1958

Label TextPettibone’s work questions the notion of uniqueness in art objects. His choice of subject matter is the work of other artists. This piece appropriates Jasper Johns’ Tennyson, a 1958 painting that is also in the Art Center’s collection. By making them very small, Pettibone’s appropriations often more closely resemble book or magazine reproductions of the originals instead of the actual paintings. Pettibone also recreates the back and supportive structures of the original works, lending the miniatures some of the qualities of sculpture.

DimensionsFrame: 10 1/4 × 8 3/8 × 7/16 in. (26 × 21.3 × 1.1 cm)
Canvas: 10 × 8 1/16 in. (25.4 × 20.5 cm)

Accession Number 2003.363

Classificationspainting