In "Into the Unknown," we see three examples of Abrahamic iconography: the cross, the “X” representing the ten commandments, and Jacob’s ladder. The three symbols guide us towards an understanding of both Jewish and Christian (and Muslim) biblical interrelationships between God and His followers, upholding these expectations for modern-day followers as well. So, what if the followers deviate from this religious path? The ladder’s bottom rungs have been torn out, and the cross and X hang high amongst the clouds, just out of reach. Like Samuel Bak’s disillusionment with religion and God after the Holocaust, God is no longer accessible, and there must therefore be a new way forward, into the unknown.
The wayward traveler who populates so many of Bak’s compositions, always carrying a suitcase by his side, has come to represent for me Bak’s mind and soul, traveling through these compositions as his physical body travels through the world. The traveler will therefore never settle, he must constantly move just as Bak’s mind never settles on one idea, or one conclusion. Bak is a “painter of questions” because he believes in the necessity of questions, but not always the certitude of answers. The desire to be analytical and critical comes from always searching for something, through paint and footsteps, even if the destination is “unknown”.
Jocelyn Furniss (Guest Writer)
BAK a Day, May 15, 2023
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