Campbell’s Souped Up

In light of all the talk at work about Jasper Johns and targets, I feel compelled to admit that I love Target . . . the store. I go there at least twice a week, and on a recent visit with my son, we stumbled across this Andy Warhol-inspired display by Campbell’s Soup. The company produced 1.2 million brightly colored, limited-edition cans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Warhol’s 32 Campbell’s Soup Cans. For just 75 cents, you can purchase this bit of art and pop culture paraphernalia. But I’d suggest you hurry–when we were there, another shopper was buying a whole case to give as holiday gifts!

Photo of Brooke Rosenblatt's son shopping for Warhol-inspired Campbell's Soup

My son shopping for Warhol-inspired Campbell’s Soup. Photo: Brooke Rosenblatt

O is for Origin Story

(left to right) Lithography stone; 0 from Jasper Johns, 0–9, 1963. 10 lithographs, 20 5/8 x 15 1/2 in.; Jasper Johns, Target, 1960. Lithograph, 22 1/2 x 17 1/2 in; Both Johns prints published by Universal Limited Art Editions. John and Maxine Belger Foundation © Jasper Johns and ULAE / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

(left to right) Lithography stone; 0 from Jasper Johns, 0–9, 1963. 10 lithographs, 20 5/8 x 15 1/2 in.; Jasper Johns, Target, 1960. Lithograph, 22 1/2 x 17 1/2 in; Both Johns prints published by Universal Limited Art Editions. John and Maxine Belger Foundation © Jasper Johns and ULAE / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

I like that Jasper Johns looked at a blank lithography stone and decided the first image he would make with it was a zero. (I learned this fact on a recent staff tour of our current exhibition with Assistant Curator Renée Maurer.) It’s not difficult to imagine how a target came next–its basis is also a circle, also a symbol, but instead of quantifying nothingness, a target represents a very specific goal. Giotto famously demonstrated his artistic prowess  by drawing a perfect circle without the aid of a compass. By beginning his printmaking career with the continuous, curved shape of infinity–first zeroed out, then honed in–Johns inscribed seemingly limitless potential.

Cecilia Wichmann, Publicity and Marketing Manager