Name/Title
SpitEntry/Object ID
2019.70Description
Several colorful shapes that look like skulls or birds with human eyes.Context
Chicago native Paul Lamantia is best known for visceral, detailed paintings that blend expressionism with the mythical, dream-like imagery of surrealism. Described by Michael Bonesteel in a 1983 issue of Artforum as “probably the most underrated artist working in the Chicago Imagist tradition,” Lamantia’s work is thoroughly hybrid: not only do various styles seamlessly blend together, but exaggerated body parts are detached and reconfigured to form veritable mutants. His early works, produced under the influence of his teachers at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago including Ray Yoshida and Whitney Halstead, are reminiscent of Jean Dubuffet, the famous French art brut painter, who was in fact a proponent of Lamantia’s work in the late 1960s. Originally trained in mechanical drawing and illustration, Lamantia then worked in advertising as a graphic designer before enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserves where his technical skills were employed in the painting of murals at various Army forts. Only later, at the age of almost 30, did Lamantia undertake formal training at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Spit is emblematic of what the artist refers to as “intensifications” of the imagery of classical nude paintings. However, Lamantia reinterprets these forms in the light of his self-proclaimed “blue collar” influences: curiosities and pinup magazines from his childhood home, his experiences with hallucinogenic drugs in the 1960s and 70s, the comic books he began illustrating and selling as a schoolboy, and his encounter with so-called “psychiatric art.” Deformed faces appear on color-blocked forms, violently juxtaposed with other hybrid creatures and the sheen of futuristic-like metal parts and objects.Acquisition
Accession
2019.69-71Source or Donor
Corbett vs Dempsey GalleryAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Courtesy of Corbett vs. DempseyInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
SignatureLocation
versoTranscription
PAUL LAMANTIAType
InscriptionLocation
versoTranscription
spitType
DateLocation
versoTranscription
2/22/86 -Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
PaintingNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsGetty AAT
Concept
Chicago Imagist, anthropomorphic, figure-derived form attributes, form attributesHierarchy Name
Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), Attributes and Properties (hierarchy name)Facet
Styles and Periods Facet, Physical Attributes FacetLOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Murals, Nudes, Pinup photographs, Comic books, Hallucinations & illusionsDimensions
Height
23 inWidth
20-13/16 inDepth
3 inDimension Notes
58.42 cm. x 52.86 cm. x 7.62 cm.