Ode to Jasper Johns, Classic Flat Top Ballantine Ale Can antique articulated figure I find the lettering spelling

I find the lettering spelling out the name of his hometown

which is what I love about them--the most pared down (and I think very elegant) solutions to the task

A quite a skillful carver they were

functioning like giant decorative washers capping support rods that ran the width of a building

done according to the Becker rather than Spencerian method

Ode to Jasper Johns, Classic Flat Top Ballantine Ale Can antique articulated figure I find the lettering spellingI found a handful of old Ballantine beer cans a few years ago, which I bought in homage to Jasper Johns, who made them icons of art history through his Painted Bronze (Ale Cans), 1960. This is the first I've come across in a long while, precisely the same type as used as basis for the sculpture, and it made me very happy; I can't look at a Ballantine can and think of anything else, such that all Ballantine cans are already objets d'art to me, which