In Bak’s painting "Study for Burning", each figure has aspects of its past humanity, although it has undergone a violent transformation. On the left, a statue is battered with bullet holes and blood, yet still stands tall. He stares directly at the viewer with empty eyes, challenging us to untangle the visual narrative within this painting. His right hand is raised, and his index finger points to the sky: perhaps to heaven, or towards the cloud of smoke. What message does he have to deliver, and how has the violence of humanity prevented him from doing so?
To the right of the monument, a figure goes up in smoke. The red robes are left empty, the essence of the figure’s physical spirit gone. All that remains are his hands, one of which clutches a cane for support. The form is evocative of a candle, a symbol which often appears in Bak’s works as a representation of Jewish tradition and rituals of remembrance. The “burning” is also a haunting tribute to victims of the Holocaust. The robe transforms into trails of red wax which collect on the ground.
The wooden cut out is positioned behind, looking over both figures and contemplating his own fate. Bak invites the viewer to transform visual into narrative, and to engage with both the lessons and darkness which can be found in the past.
Lilly Harvey (Guest writer)
BAK a Day, March 1, 2024
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