Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Karl Wirsum was a member of a group known as the Chicago Imagists, artists who exhibited together in the 1960s and 70s that shared a surreal, figurative, and often cartoon like style each with their own approach. Wirsum is an essential Imagist with his colorful, cartoon style and often explosive figures. As Wirsum first wanted to become a comic book artist, his style is incredibly influenced by cartoons as well as his fellow Imagist artists. The colors and style of figure in Alter Ear is very representative of Wirsum and his eccentric, energetic forms. Wirsum’s love of jazz music influenced his work as much as his love of comic books, and that improvisational, bold nature can be seen in his clean, dynamic lines and in the subject of his works. Alter Ear, while as unclear as most Imagist art is, clearly relates to the experience of listening to music and his own feelings on the art form. Whether an expression of music’s effect on our emotions or an eccentric portrait, Alter Ear’s simple yet colorful figure is intriguing and compels one to ask for more.
This work is the earliest of Wirsum’s to be part of the collection, and the only one created at the height of the Chicago Imagist’s popularity.