Foirades / Fizzles

Within the oeuvre of Jasper Johns prints occupy an important position. Johns appreciates them as a medium whose technical possibilities allow him to experiment in many ways. It offers him the opportunity to use existing material in a new form, as in the artist’s book Foirades/Fizzles. This book consists of 5 texts by Samuel Beckett and 33 etchings by Johns. Most of the etchings are based on his four-panel painting Untitled from 1972 (MoMA collection, New York). Elements of this painting can be found throughout the etchings. Numbers form the introduction to the five sections of the book. Johns’ etchings are not illustrations of Beckett’s text. They are, however, a very good fit for the fragmentary and enigmatic use of language. Beckett’s text Foirades first appeared in French in 1972. He rewrote it in English in 1974. Both versions were included in the book, creating extra possibilities for Johns’ artwork.