Untitled
Artist
John Egner
(American, M.F.A. Yale; B.F.A. Philadelphia Museum College of Art, 1940 - 2021)
Date1969
MediumPaint on paper
DimensionsPaper Size: 14 × 20 3/4 in. (35.6 × 52.7 cm)
ClassificationsDrawing
Credit LineGift of James Pearson Duffy, 2008
Object numberUAC3626
Description“The Cass Corridor "aesthetic" has come to be thought of as raw, gritty, and seemingly unrefined, with a reliance on found industrial objects. A distinctly urban aesthetic has become the legacy and influence of the movement…” - Dr. Dora Apel, “Cass Corridor Culture”In a series of Rorschach-esque paint splatter constructions rendered in a simplistically bold color palette, Egner reveals his allegiance to the Cass Corridor movement, with it’s raw, gritty aesthetic utilizing the found materials of the psychological subconscious as subject while concurrently serving as precursor for later works, rooted in patterning and structural gridwork, albeit in a more free flowing, improvisational style. This oppositional marriage of chaos and structure embodies a style of an artist in flux. The series showcases hallmarks of the movement’s aesthetics, allowing for a reading of the psyche of an artist working in late 20th century Detroit and even the city itself with all of its underlying riotous (literally) social and political intricacies. The “seemingly unrefined” character of the images, featuring a crease down their center, reading as both modus operandi for the work’s symmetrical composition and evidence of the hand of the working artist, lends these paintings easily to the wildly active energy of the Cass Corridor. Simultaneously, the desire for a more exacting compositional foundation begins to emerge through the precision of the bisection of the work and subsequent creation of an exacting mirror image, lending a precursory structural pattern that would serve as signature element in Egner’s more mature oeuvre.
“124 - H3 - Untitled” is reminiscent of an exotic butterfly, it’s abundantly green and yellow wings providing a camouflage in a naturalistic color palette, accented by rich, depth granting blacks. Historically symbolic of change and evolution, Egner’s abstracted butterfly stands in for his shifting style and the transitionary period of the city. The lack of exactness of representational form grants the composition an ominous quality, complicating the directness of a symbolic reading. Perhaps this inexact insect-like form alludes to the tangled web of socio-economic factors at play in the late 1960s while commenting on the cacophonous messiness of personal evolution as well. Or maybe Egner’s composition “124 - H3 - Untitled” is merely a happy accident of reflected forms, arranged in an inexact parallelism, amassing visual pleasure in spectators through bold colors and intricately weaving structures.
Philadelphia native John Egner studied painting at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, , obtaining a B.F.A in 1963 followed by a stint at the Brooklyn Museum Art School where he was awarded the Max Bechmann Scholarship. Next he moved on to Yale University, graduating with a M.F.A. in 1966. It was after these educational endeavors that Egner found his way to Detroit, taking on the role of Professor of Undergraduate and Graduate Painting at Wayne State University. This relocation to downtown Detroit connected him with its burgeoning art scene, introducing him to other artists that that would become affiliated with the Cass Corridor movement. As an instructor, Egner arguably influenced those under his tutelage, shaping later manifestations of the Detroit bred style and facilitating exhibitions for the work of his contemporaries, assisting in the founding of the Willis Gallery. A current resident of New York state, the seminal Cass Corridor artist Egner continues to create and exhibit his art.
Written by Kat Goffnett
