THE ARTS

Yen for the Arts: American artist Jasper Johns, known for his paintings of flags, is one of five recipients of a Praemium Imperiale, the Japan Art Assn.’s prestigious annual award honoring lifetime achievement in the arts. Other winners of this year’s 15-million yen ($138,000) international prizes are Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington; choreographer-dancer Maurice Bejart, founder of the Ballet Theatre de Paris; Swiss sculptor Max Bill; and Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. Winners will officially be announced today in Berlin and will receive their awards in Tokyo in October. The awards aim to complement the Nobel Prizes by honoring artistic areas not recognized by the Swedish prize.

TELEVISION

* Ratings to Ratings: Connie Chung’s “Eye to Eye” newsmagazine got off to a good start in the ratings last Thursday. It won the first half-hour from 9 to 9:30 p.m., narrowly edging a repeat of “Cheers” on NBC, and ran a strong second from 9:30 to 10 p.m. behind NBC’s “Seinfeld.” The CBS program attracted 19% of the available audience--about 9.8 million households. By contrast, ABC’s “PrimeTime Live,” airing from 10 to 11 that night, was seen by 26% of the audience--about 13.4 million homes.

* Credit Cards Ready?: The Spanish language network Telemundo today unveils “Studio X”--described as a hybrid of MTV, “Entertainment Tonight” and home shopping network QVC for young, hip Latino adults. The show will feature entertainment news, music videos and fashion news, to get viewers in the mood to buy the movie, music and fashion products also featured. Enrique Morlett, host of “Telemusica Internacional” and Gustavo Vargas of L.A.’s KTNQ host the show, which airs locally three times a week on KVEA Channel 52.

‘Robocop,’ the Series: “Robocop” is heading for TV. A series based on the “Robocop” sci-fi action-adventure films will be produced by Toronto-based Skyvision and Rysher TPE. The show, which will be syndicated in the United States, is set to premiere in February.

MOVIES

* New DGA Prez: Gene Reynolds, whose credits include the TV hits “MASH” and “Lou Grant,” was elected president of the Directors Guild of America at the group’s 1993 National Convention in Los Angeles on Sunday. Reynolds, who succeeds two-term DGA president Arthur Hiller, said his top priority will be employment for DGA members.

* Sold!: The Oscar that Joan Crawford won for best actress in “Mildred Pierce” went for $68,500 at auction Saturday at Christie’s in New York, becoming the third Academy Award to be publicly sold. Crawford’s 1945 Oscar, expected to bring in about $12,000, was sold to an unidentified private collector after heated bidding. The other Oscars that have previously been sold are Harold Russell’s statuette for best supporting actor in “Best Years of Our Lives,” which went for $57,000 last August, and John Lennon’s Oscar for best song for “Let It Be,” which went for $110,000 last October.

* Dino Boycott: Six-year-old Alex Boyd’s boycott of “Jurassic Park” got the attention of the movie’s director, Steven Spielberg. Boyd, of Rosemount, Minn., urged people not to buy the toys and other merchandise promoting the film. In a letter to Spielberg, Boyd said it’s not fair to ask children to spend their allowance on the stuff when they’re too young to see the movie. “But the toys are made for older kids to enjoy, too,” Spielberg wrote back last week. “It seems equally unfair to me that some of these older kids . . . should be denied the chance to get toys and souvenirs.” He agreed that some younger children, including his own, should not see the film.

POP/ROCK

* Ventura Benefit: David Crosby, Kenny Loggins, Chris Hillman & the Desert Rose Band and Jackson Browne will be among the performers at two acoustic benefit concerts at the Ventura Theatre in Ventura next Sunday. Proceeds from the concerts, at 7 and 9:30 p.m., will support efforts to block a landfill proposed for Western Ventura County’s Weldon Canyon. Scott Bakula, Malcolm MacDowell, Linda Kelsey and Mary Steenburgen will co-host the event.

QUICK TAKES

* Sylvester Stallone will be honored by the International Martial Arts Club at its tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia, this week. But Stallone, currently filming “Demolition Man,” will not be present to accept the award. . . . Dan Aykroyd and actress wife Donna Dixon are the parents of a baby girl, Belle Kingston Aykroyd, born in Santa Monica. Aykroyd is filming “My Girl II.”