Perilous Night by Jasper Johns

Perilous Night detail by Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, Perilous Night (detail of stick), 1982, encaustic on canvas with objects, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection 1995.79.1

The wooden stick attached to the canvas also appears in other works. Found objects like this make complex and layered references. As a tool for measuring or a maulstick used to steady a painter's hand, this stick could symbolize the way an artist works—figuratively and literally—in the act of creating.