Bak’s 2021 painting "The Possibility of the Impossible" presents viewers with a surrealist twist on the classic look of old-school magicians. Here, the man’s identity is revealed through his attire and the twin red curtains that flow in and out of the scene. The left curtain floats and swings in the air while the other remains rather still. A curtain rod pierces through the magician’s forehead as he handles his top hat - a signature element of his costume. Despite his head being penetrated, Bak’s magician evokes a certain calmness opposite to such a violent act. Through his classic use of contradictions, Bak has made it hard to tell whether or not his character is in any pain.
Regardless of his emotional and physical state, Bak’s magician continues on with his act. It seems as though we have caught our performer in the middle of a Hat-trick, only instead of the typical rabbit or bouquet of flowers, this magician has pulled his own hand out of his hat. This bizarre demonstration begs the question, what kind of trick are we witnessing? Is it good-natured, like most magic tricks try to be? Or will it end with our magician – or perhaps, our viewers – in peril?
Lucy McGing (Guest writer)
BAK a Day, January 20, 2024
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"The Possibility of the Impossible" can have both positive and negative connotations. The thought of murdering 6 million Jews and millions of others was something that most people would say was impossible, but it happened. The fact that Jews and many others survived a mass effort of extermination also seems impossible, but it happened.
This painting exists in duality; it is at once hopeful and hopeless. The magician, decapitated and impaled, looks up with hope at the appearing hand holding a wand. As the curtains closes and chaos ensues around him, will the wand fix all that is broken?
Each of us has a responsibility to stand up to injustice when we see it occur, especially when we are bystanders. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…”. Reach out your hand and offer help.
Beth Plakidas (Guest writer)
BAK a Day, February 27, 2023
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Does the Impossible allow for the Possible?
The magician appears again in pieces.
Head disconnected from the formal attire and the torso with arms.
The red cape provides a sense of the mysterious works.
The hat levitates or is held above the cylinder.
The rod has pierced the head of the magician.
Part of the curtain is suspended from a rod and that rod is combined with a vertical rod to become a cross.
The arched backdrop suggests the form of one of the tablets.
Happily the magician wears cufflinks.
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