Jeffrey T. Baker

Pythia's Prospect
acrylic, toner, conté crayon, and wax on panel
6.75" square, 2011 — $330

What began as a process experiment took on a peculiar gravity as I proceeded to obliterate, and then bring back, the wind strewn hiss of a geyser.

I will make the assumption that the source material is from Yellowstone, but that is my default answer for any photo I own that contains geysers (and yes, I have found many more than one such image). Nevertheless, it was the thought of someone holding their head over such a noxious orifice to obtain insight into the fickly nature of gods that most captured my imagination.

Hence the (rather heavy-handed) title.

Miasma
acrylic, toner, watercolor, graphite and wax on panel
6.75" square, 2011 — $330 

This was not the image it was intended to be, but many creative acts often diverge from the staid safety of intention.

I allowed things to get a bit messy. The powdered graphite seeped into glazes of acrylic and reactivated a buried layer of watercolor. What was supposed to be a simple plume became a noxious spill into the majority of the composition. Like most of my forays into color (which have been increasing of late) I find myself disillusioned with any color that is too easily named, so I allow dry mediums such as pastel and charcoal to push them into powdery tints and tones. Obviously, there is a correlation between an image of particulate haze and the application of that haze with a powdery particulate.

Decadent Decline
acrylic, leafing, toner, and wax on panel10.5" square, 2011 — $450

Where does the allure of the chandelier originate from? Do we all fancy ourselves deserving of more elegance? Does sophistication come before, or after, the attainment of Venetian crystal? 

While visiting Italy a few years ago I was struck by the sheer ubiquitousness of chandeliers— here are a few snapshots to support my claim:

Of course, I'm willing to believe that chandeliers are a personal preoccupation stemming from an aesthetic inclination towards contrast. It might also have something to do with the subconscious comfort that comes with light conquering dark. The chandelier performs this with an opulent splintering of light that asserts not just the presence of a chemical reaction, but the very genius of man's imagination and handwork. 

Bit
acylic, leafing, toner, and wax on panel
2 7/8" square, 2011 — SOLD

The smallest work I've created in some time. 

Bit isolates just the tip of a fantastic piece of spoila which sits atop Venice's Basilica di San Marco. It seemed an appropriate work to share on the official opening date of the Venice Biennale.

Elysian Veneer
acrylic, leafing, toner, and wax on panel
7 3/4" square, 2011 — SOLD

I might be setting myself up for some heated debate comparing La Canada-Flintridge to Elysium. . . assuming there are any people acquainted enough with either place enough to take up the issue.

The Act of Disappearing Completely
acrylic, toner, watercolor, powdered graphite, and wax on board
24" x 18", 2011 — $1,400

This seemed an appropriately titled image for the final weekend of my exhibit at the Oregon College of Art & Craft. I have heard from a number of folks that they've made it up into Portland's West Hills to take a look, and I want to thank you all for your support.

The Act of Disappearing Completely has stirred up more response than any other work I've completed these past months. In the show it is housed in an antique frame sprayed down with a thick coat of oily black lacquer. I believe that this finish contributes a tremendous amount of additional resonance to the work. It is one of those instances where the frame is designed to be a part of the piece, not simply offset the image.

Originally I had titled this work In and Under, because I was convinced that The Act of Disappearing Completely, which had been kicking around in my head for months, was the title of a Radiohead song. I finally dug through my albums only to discover that the song in question was actually called How to Disappear Completely. If you listen to it, I think it would be easy to draw a few parallels. . .

Wisdom and War
acrylic, toner, copper leaf, and wax on board
7" x 5", 2011 — SOLD

Continuing along with the antiquity theme. . .

I always thought Athena's attributes to be oddly incongruous with each other. The only thing that could have made her story more ironic to a modern audience was if the oil she happened to be the originator of was crude instead of olive.

Genitor
acrylic, toner, charcoal, pastel, and wax on panel
10.5" square, 2011 — $450

There are many depictions of God's head floating disembodied from the firmament. . . As Christianity came to prominence in Rome, which was in turn shaped a great deal by the Greeks, it is a simple thing to see in the visage of Zeus the blueprint for all Father-figures to come in the Western world.

The Sky a Bruise, and the Land.
acrylic, watercolor, toner, graphite, and wax on panel
5" x 10 3/8", 2011 — $350

Quite a few of the new works in the Collected show explore the visual tension between the strictly photographic and the obviously painted. This image began as the lower half of another composition. After seeing the elements of the composition together I became convinced they'd be stronger when separated and introduced the table saw into the process. 

Not surprisingly, when someone was joking with me last week about just cutting works in half to make more art for the show I had a hard time suppressing a laugh.

Snag
acrylic, tea, toner, graphite and wax on 
cheesecloth wrapped panel
6" square, 2011 — $300

Every few days over the course of the next month I’ll post a new work that is exhibited in the Collected show at the Oregon College of Art & Craft. My hope is that this will serve as some sort of substitute for those who can’t make it in person; albeit with the well-hashed caveat that it is a poor replacement for the real subtleties of personal engagement.

* * * * *
At the crest of a coastal cliff the snag stood defiant in the face of its disaster; a stance that seemed both admirable and ridiculous.