Text of a poster written and carved in wood on the occasion of the solo exhibition in Mladá Boleslav in 1985.
The particularity of Altmann’s graphical language in woodcarving lies in the artistic temperament of the author who has found expressiveness in the graphic technique, which suits his artistic intentions the most. The main features of the author’s expressive handwriting is a dynamic, bold and vibrating artwork, part of which is a dramatic play of light and shadow. As one of the few in the temporary budding art direction he is developing the lapidary morphology of the oldest graphic techniques of which expressive Renaissance had been striving for at the end of the last century by Munch, Gauguin and later by the German Expressionists.
Inspired by Middle Age prints he creates wooden blocks, into which he cuts his own motives, but also uses mirror writing, which puts the finishing touches to the graphic page. By doing so, he is continuing in a very old tradition of block books from the 14th and 15th centuries, which also inspired a prominent graphic artist J. Váchal while creating his engraved books at the beginning of the 20th century. There is not a theme that J.A. could not interpret with his knives into the fine maze of a tree ring. Apart from views of the Prague’s Old Town, we can find in his repertoire a cycle dedicated to the poetry of F.Villon, themes on loose prints inspired by contemporary life, nature, journeys through the USSR and also experimental themes using several block prints jointly, on which various stories are told. More and more often portraits of friends and of prominent people from the world of culture can be found among his work, bearing the seal of his unmistakable and vivid handwriting, using mostly the line carving technique.
Altmann’s love for the forest through his daily encounters with it radiate from his prints; his love for wood and the dialogue he enters into with his favorite material is reflected also by his respect for the natural structure of the wood and his artful appreciation and use of defects, knobs and cracks found. Mr. Altmann loves to enter the fascinating world full of wonderful shapes offering creative possibilities, and after coming to a mutual agreement with the chosen object he entrusts it with his theme. The classical hand printing method amplifies the attractiveness of the artful handcraft, which sharply contrasts with the perfect techniques available nowadays.
PhDr. Simeona Hošková
