Floor 6: 6th Floor City Gallery: QR Code 618
Overview
Interpretive Text
Objects
3 objects in the order you'll encounter them from this entrance. Select an object to view details.
Label Text
1987
Etchings with aquatint, ed. 56/73
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Acquired by the Fisher family, 1990
Johns engages in the long tradition of depicting the four seasons as an allegory for the stages of human life, from youth (spring) through adulthood (summer), maturity (autumn), and, finally, old age and death (winter). In each panel, we see the repeated figure of the artist, which Johns based on a tracing of his shadow. They appear alongside a circle with the imprint of an arm and hand that swivels like a clock, marking the progression of time. The works are densely layered with references to Johns’s past artworks and those of earlier painters, from the German Renaissance artist Matthias Grünewald to Pablo Picasso.
Visual Description
Four separate color etchings, each about 2.2 × 1.6 ft, are shown together in a two-by-two arrangement, each print surrounded by a white margin. Across the series, pale gray human silhouettes recur amid fragmented, collage-like interiors and objects, with diagonal tilts and overlapping planes; a large dark circular form appears in several panels, often cropped at the edge.
In the top-left print, a bluish-gray standing figure occupies the center, partially veiled by diagonal hatch marks. Behind and around it are angular shapes. To the right, a purple area holds small black-and-white rectangular images. Near the bottom center sits a smaller pale figure drawing—an outlined torso-like form over geometric lines—contrasting with the larger silhouette above. There are blues, creams, and grays, with the dark circular element pressed into the lower-left corner.
In the top-right print, a tall gray figure stands left of center against a mint-green field. To the right, an angled stack of objects—boards, a triangular wedge, and patterned fragments—leans diagonally; small yellow star-like shapes dot the upper area. The dark circular form again appears at the lower right edge, with layered textures and stripes nearby.
In the bottom-left print, two pale gray figures flank the composition—one at the far left edge and another at the far right—creating a framing for a central concentration of tilted boards and patterned planes. Near the bottom, the large dark circular disc curves across the lower center, partly obscured by overlapping fragments. The palette shifts warmer, with tan and sandy tones surrounding cooler purples and grays.
In the bottom-right print, a vertical field of dark gray on the right is peppered with many small white dots, while the left side includes deep blues and a partial dark circle at the lower left. In the middle, a complex lattice of ochre and brown beams rises diagonally, set against speckled blue and gray areas.
Label Text
2000
Single-channel video, silent, 20 min.
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Acquired by the Fisher family, 2000
With its silence, dramatic lighting, and extreme slow motion, this video might at first glance be mistaken for a painting. Viola presents us with a composite of six different videos of a single actor portraying a progression of intense emotional states: joy, sorrow, anger, fear, awe, and dreaming. Six Heads recalls Old Master (European artists from 1300–1800) studies for heads combined on a single sheet or canvas. Unlike a drawing or painting, video can capture the minute transformations that occur as one emotion transitions into the next.
Visual Description
A vertically oriented artwork (shown as a still from DVD playback equipment, 3.3 ft × 2 ft × 7 inches) presents six tightly cropped head-and-shoulders portraits arranged in two columns and three rows. Each frame features the same older man with light skin, a balding head with short gray hair around the sides, and gray stubble along his jaw and chin, wearing a plain black crew-neck top that blends into a nearly black background. Lighting from above and slightly to one side creates shadows across his forehead, eye sockets, cheeks, and neck, showing wrinkles, pores, and the sheen of skin.
In the top row, the left portrait shows him with eyes closed and a faint, satisfied smile, head tilted slightly upward; the right portrait shows him turned more to the side, eyes wide and alert, mouth slightly parted. In the middle row, the portrait on the left shows him facing forward with widened eyes and a tight, tense mouth; on the right he squints, brow furrowed, lips pressed together. In the bottom row, the portrait on the left shows his head tilted back and his mouth open, eyes shining upward; on the right, his head drops downward, gaze cast to the floor, the top of his scalp catching the light while his face falls into shadow.
Label Text
2001
Bronze
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Acquired by the Fisher family, 2002
Visual Description
This bronze sculpture features a stacked, boxy base, roughly 3 feet by 5 feet, with a slender, rectangular frame and a vertical element rising up about 7.5 feet tall, all unified by a dark, weathered surface. The foundation is a large, nearly cube-shaped block, with sides modeled to resemble horizontal wooden planks covered in scuffs and uneven edges. A slightly overhanging, thin square plate sits on top of this crate form, slightly lifted from the boxy base.
Centered on the lid is a smaller cube, and on that rests an even smaller block. Above the topmost block rises a thin, rectangular rod that bends at a right angle towards the left, with a narrow, wavy rod that connects back to the block in several gentle curves downwards. Throughout, the bronze surface shows mottled blacks and deep browns with rubbed highlights and rough texture.