Jasper Johns, born May 15, 1930, became famous by painting things that seem too ordinary to be art. His most well-known work is Flag (1954-55), a painting of the American flag that looks almost exactly like a real flag. But look closely and you can see layers of texture. Johns used a technique called encaustic, which involves mixing hot wax with paint. Strips of newspaper are visible beneath the waxy surface, giving the painting a rough, layered look that a real flag does not have. Johns also painted targets, numbers, and letters of the alphabet. He chose these subjects because everyone already knows what they look like. A viewer cannot pretend they are looking at something mysterious or unfamiliar. Instead, they have to ask a different question: what makes this a painting instead of just a copy? Johns wanted people to think about the difference between an object and a picture of an object. His flag painting is not a flag. You cannot wave it in a parade. It hangs on a wall. But it looks like a flag. This simple idea -- that art can make you look at everyday things differently -- made Johns one of the most influential American artists of the twentieth century.