Self-Serving Circle may be a commentary, or a parody of a very famous work entitled: Target by Jasper Johns. The “circle,” which is really a target with the outer circle decorated with dollar signs and an emphatic one placed within the bullseye. Lofton continues to show that he is an astute student of modern art in which he appropriates the target motif famously used in a work by Johns, the American painter and graphic artist associated with the Pop Art movement. In the 1950s Johns was searching for a way to break from the Abstract Expressionist movement. He began to incorporate flags, numbers and targets in his work to reclaim subject matter that became secondary in abstract expressionism. Johns began to use the target from 1955 to 1961 in various forms, breaking the barrier between everyday objects and their meaning and perception. Lofton’s may be critical of the importance or market value paid for such works generated by critics, galleries and museums as overly extravagant and unrealistic as compared to compensation made to African American artists. This comparison can be seen in the works of Alma Thomas, an African American artist, who created circular paintings motifs, but does not receive the same notoriety as Johns. Lofton might be making a statement about the small circle of artists and those who determine whose relevant is an exclusive self-serving group.

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