Jasper Johns: Decoy

Jasper Johns’s Decoy is rooted inside the notions of reproduction, transformation and memory. Believing that an image gains new meaning each time it is presented, Johns boldly confronts his own past work, most notably Ale Cans (1964), and uses Decoy as a method of metamorphosis. The repetition of certain motifs allows both Johns and his spectators to confront the change an image goes through when approached from a different angle or placed in a new artistic context. As noted in the film, “each time a motif is used and reused additional memories accrue, new layers of meaning, and the image itself begins to acquire its own history.” (Jasper Johns) It is through Johns’s reimagining that the items he features in his work take on new life and grow from object to art, thus redirecting society’s interpretation.

Directed by Michael Blackwood, Jasper Johns: Decoy leans on a strong ensemble — Jasper Johns, Tatyana Grosman, Barbara Rose — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1973.