When John Linthurst was grounded as a child for “some menial thing,” he said his father would give him magazines to read so he could learn something of the world.
But instead of just reading, he created collages from the images he found in publications such as Life and National Geographic magazines.
“Yes, I would read them, but the pictures were more mesmerizing, and I began cutting the pictures out from one set and pasting them to another,” Linthurst wrote on his website.
Those youthful artistic choices stuck with Linthurst, now 71, and led to the creation of 52 artworks that he has collectively dubbed “Golden Age.”
Through March 26, the Rancho Bernardo Library will have a free exhibit of 23 of those collage-inspired art pieces along the second-floor hallway at 17110 Bernardo Center Drive. The exhibit can be seen during library hours.
“Golden Age” is a cultural spoof of the more affluent societies in post-World War II, primarily the 1950s, ‘60s and ’70s. To create his scenario collages, Linthurst used vintage paper dolls, plastic Barbie dolls and sewing pattern images from those decades to create social landscapes.
Many of the doll images are placed in outdoor settings for pool parties and other swanky locales.
John Linthurst with “Rockin’ the Fringe,” an artwork set in 1976 for his exhibit “Golden Age” that can be seen in the Rancho Bernardo Library through March 26. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)
“I was born in the ‘50s so this is a throwback project,” Linthurst said, adding it will likely appeal more to older generations than those in Gen Z.
“I work in tangents,” Linthurst said of his artistic pursuits. “I work on a subject until I’m exhausted.”
“Golden Age” was his focus throughout 2024.
After cutting out the images of people that he liked from sewing patterns and paper doll books, Linthurst said he assembled them in various ways until a storyline developed that fit in a setting often based on landscape photos he has taken. Many are in Southern California, others are in the Anza-Borrego Desert or at a tennis club in La Jolla.
Linthurst, a trained photographer, said taking photos is just documenting the reality of a place, while using his photos to create something new is more enjoyable and meaningful.
Using sewing patterns, especially the vintage McCall’s and Simplicity ones, is also a way to acknowledge the work of unknown artists who drew the images. Starting in the ‘70s, Linthurst said pattern companies moved toward using photography to illustrate how the clothing could look with their patterns.
To obtain the sewing pattern packaging, Linthurst turned to thrift stores and eBay. Due to their original sizes, the initial images were of poor quality and pixelated, he said. So to create his 18-inch by 24-inch and 24-inch by 36-inch final art works from those that start at around 13 inches by 19 inches he had to “reconstitute” them through drawing and painting.
“I blow them up to scale … then use my painting skills to paint with oil to redraw the outlines,” he said about the time-consuming process.
“As I am working on them I match an environment to the doll, the story creeps up on (me) … and arrives as the piece nears completion,” he said. “They end up being one-frame cartoons.”
Four of the 23 artworks in John Linthurst’s “Golden Age” series that uses vintage paper dolls and sewing pattern images as inspiration on exhibit in the Rancho Bernardo Library. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)
Linthurst said the storylines he creates end up being a “wry social commentary” on affluent societies of those eras.
“There is a division between the classes of those who have money versus those who don’t,” he said.
“I want people to see art as an interaction,” Linthurst said, adding that some of his most poignant pieces are those with just a few dolls in the scene.
In one of those pieces titled “The Widow,” a woman is looking back — toward the viewer — with her feet dangling in a swimming pool and the sunset behind her. Linthurst said the piece is among those that depict “moments of reflection.”
“Golden Age” has been exhibited at the Encinitas City Hall, The Studio Door Hillcrest and Oceanside Museum of Art. This is the first time Linthurst, an Oceanside resident, has exhibited at the Rancho Bernardo Library. Linthurst said he applied to exhibit through the San Diego Public Library about a year ago and requested the RB Library because he thought its patrons would be a good fit for the exhibit’s theme.
His artwork is for sale. For prices, ask the library staff.
Linthurst started his art career as a young man, but shelved it for several decades. He grew up in Altadena and completed the Photo Arts program at Pasadena City College. He did additional photography studies at California State University Fullerton, where he majored in American Studies through its English department.
Despite his studies, Linthurst said he ended up working at Bank of America and obtained his real estate license. But in 2010 his teenage daughter was in a serious car accident that almost took her life. She survived, but the ordeal prompted Linthurst to reevaluate his life. He decided to step away from real estate and pursue his first loves of photography and creating art.
“Ken Burns was an influence on me because his art deals with history, the American experience,” he said.
Aside from photography, his other artistic skills are largely self-taught and learned through his interactions with other artists, he said.
Linthurst’s latest project is tissue art, a medium he learned about through an artist he met during the Art Walk in Little Italy.
To see more of Linthurst’s work, visit his website, studiovistadelmar.com.