At first glance at Samuel Bak’s "Theme and Variations I", the emphasis on religious imagery–particularly that of shrines–is clear. Decaying and decrepit, abandoned and forgotten, this 2019 oil painting exemplifies the painter’s talent in depicting surrealist landscapes that challenge his viewer’s preconceptions regarding the nature of topics and occurrences such as death, birth, decomposition, and regeneration.
In place of a religious figure or icon, Bak places in his shrine a wine bottle, a pitcher, a sort of drinking cup, and, of course, a pear. Doubtlessly, the artist’s intent with this composition was to encourage deliberation regarding the nature of religious worship and what we, as humans, might hold in such high regard as to devote to it a shrine. I will not attempt to examine such complicated prompts, considering their highly personal nature. Instead, I will share a different, though equally personal, connection to Bak’s earthy 2019 painting, which is a testament to an unconditionally loving grandmother’s faith.
"Theme and Variations I" brings about a response in me equal in both its immediacy and emotion. Bak’s dying shrine brings to mind my late Grandmother, specifically her devotion as a Roman Catholic and the wayside shrine to Mary she walked past on her daily walk to grade school in her remote Irish town of Newbrook, or Béal Átha na Lúb. The shrine, likely over a hundred years old, houses a Madonna and Child statue in a white nook that is never without fresh flowers. Mary has her child propped up against her as he holds the globus cruciger, which symbolizes God’s worldwide rule. Mary’s hand and face, which have likely been re-painted countless times, disclose the deterioration she has encountered throughout her years. In this way, her state mirrors that of Bak’s disintegrating shrine.
The imagery of Bak’s bleak shrine brings to mind my grandmother’s passing, which occurred when she was just about to turn ninety-five. Though her death was an immense loss for myself and my family, she lived an incredible life defined by her beloved home of County Mayo, Ireland, the life she built following her immigration to Chicago, and her family whom she adored with tremendous tenacity.
Again, I make a connection between Bak’s composition and my grandmother’s life: his placement of the pear on the shrine brings upon me a sense of hope, of the continuation of life, of the resilient nature of humankind, and the importance of it all. An importance we should all consider as worthy of a shrine of its own.
Lucy McGing (Guest Writer)
BAK a Day, August 7, 2023
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A favorite device: a foreground and background of related objects: pitcher, bottle, pear and cup. The foreground as an offering on an altar and the background arrayed in the landscape. Neither real and yet our life is still continuing in confusing ways. The altar holds intact objects; rare for Bak. The monumental background objects constructed out of stone. Indeed monuments. All set in a bucolic landscape. Nature is neutral.
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