"Image and Imagination" is a visually stunning painting filled with intricate details which further complicate the image’s meaning. As the viewer is asked to grapple with the disarray within the landscape, the artist is asked to do the same. The artist figure is forlorn as he attempts to understand the relationship between memory, reality, and art. He holds a mug in one hand, and in the other a piece of canvas over an already complete painting.
The figure within the painting also holds a mug in his hands, raising it to his mouth as if about to take a sip. Although the subject matter of the smaller painting is comforting and familiar, the mood of the work is somber due to the figure’s downturned expression and the muted, ghostlike palette. The edges of the canvas are rough and uneven, the surface is splattered with blood, and the easel which the painting rests against is broken-down. Is the artist figure ashamed of what he has created? How does art transform reality?
Another canvas and equally dilapidated easel are turned away from the viewer, towards the ocean. What messages are hidden from the audience on the surface of this canvas? The hidden painting invites the viewer to imagine. There are four cups within the painting, each serving a unique purpose within the narrative. The first cup represents reality, and the second reality transformed into art. The third cup is more complicated to interpret: a pristine blue cup is predominantly covered by worn, cracked stone and brick. The intact cup evokes a yearning for the past, while the exterior speaks to the markings of history visible in the present. The fourth cup is deliberately hidden; it balances on a wooden plank at the top of the monumental teacup. Although tucked away, perhaps it is an emblem of hope for the future, like that of the small baby pears dispersed throughout many of Bak’s works. Which cup holds the most significance?
Lilly Harvey (Guest writer)
BAK a Day, March 6, 2024
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Another reality? Are these scenes real?
A man stands with coffee cup in hand and admires a portrait of a man holding a cup. Nearby is a canvas with its back to us. It is an announcement of the presentation and unveiling of the painting.
The painting is a collage of a cloth with part of the image and the remainder of the image on the board.
Behind a monumental stone cup stands. A blue porcelain cup peeks out from the stone structure. At its base the plaster has been removed and is in the shape of a pear.
Images and objects are all part of Bak’s visual language as he ponders the meaning of life.
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