In this work Johns plays with perceptual cues, posing the linguistic against the visual by mismatching the words for colors with the inks they are printed in—for example, writing the word "yellow" in blue ink. Johns printed a second composition in grays and black using the same stones, a strategy that became one of his common practices in printmaking.
Gallery label from Artistic Collaborations: 50 Years at Universal Limited Art Editions, January 17–May 21, 2007.