The Idea and The Problem of
JOHN ALTOON
b. 1924 - d. 1967
ON WITH THE SHOW:
THE EARLIEST WORK
The exhibition opens with a pair of self-portrait drawings produced in the late1940s, when Altoon was a student on the GI Bill at Otis Art Institute and, later, at the Art Center School, both in Los Angeles.
The '47 self-portrait, Old Master-ish in style, is constructed almost entirely of line, used in the manner of an etching or engraving. The expression is rather tame, with Altoon presenting himself as a confident, somewhat roguish figure. In this, the image is probably like innumerable self-portraits produced by other young male art students of the time, though these others might not be so skillfully crafted.
Two years of art school later, in a self-portrait of 1949, the formal character of Altoon's work seems little changed. Again, it is line dependent. On the expressive side, however, this is far more complex and revealing work; with Altoon showing himself as a Goya-esque giant surrounded by a host of lesser figures whose presence seems to frustrate and annoy him.
(SELF PORTRAIT) c. 1949
Significantly, this growth in the work's expression occurs utterly unaccompanied by any parallel development in its formal qualities. This suggests that Altoon's greater fascination, even his basic nature, runs more toward illustration and representation than toward formal consideration and invention.
In Modern Art, which values formal invention far more than image making and story telling, this is definitely not a configuration of attributes that can take an artist very far.
