“Cicada” is an artwork by Jasper Johns, an artist associated with the Abstract Expressionism movement. This piece is categorized within the abstract genre, reflecting the movement’s characteristic embrace of non-representational forms and the evocation of emotion through color, shape, and composition rather than literal subject matter.
The artwork presents a vibrant array of hatch-mark strokes in a multicolored pattern, which dominates the upper portion of the canvas. These hatch-marks are tightly packed and overlap in a seemingly random yet deliberate arrangement, creating a dynamic and textural visual experience. The color palette is rich, with primary colors red, yellow, and blue interspersed with secondary colors green, orange, and violet, lending the piece an energetic and lively quality.
Below this explosion of color and pattern, there is a separate section that seems to be a thematic or narrative counterpoint to the abstract expressionist strokes above. This lower part contains what appears to be a series of sketches or emblematic representations including a cicada, a skull, and possibly other objects or figures, which resonate with motifs that Jasper Johns has explored in other works. Despite the juxtaposition of abstract and representational elements, the entire composition is harmonized by a shared color scheme and a sense of underlying order.
