Artist Registry

Jill Baker

Jill Baker. “Waterlily 1” Jill Baker. “Money house” Jill Baker. “Angel / fish”

Contact information

(615) 417-2870
galleryw@bellsouth.net
www.jillbaker.com

Winchester Cottage Gallery
Samuel Smith
2501 Cairo Road
Gallatin TN 37066
(615) 230-6655

Artist statement

My work encompasses several mediums, including drawings, collage, and watercolor, oils, photography, and computer graphics. All of it is representational and tends to either be impressionistic or surreal. The pieces that I have chosen to show are works that show my drafting skills, my attention to detail and realism, with perspective and proportion. Even though the work is representational, I am influenced by Oriental art and its simplicity, so some work, although realistic, appears abstract, since it is reduced to its absolute minimum, like Haiku.

Though I utilize a variety of techniques, the categories fall under painting. Even the photographs appear to be drawn, and I manipulate them until they are. I enjoy photography not only as a medium to itself, but use it as one of my tools, like paint, to create a complex image. I studied under the famous collagist, Karl Zerbe, and, with his encouragement, developed my own style of collage, using photography, that approaches the surreal style of Bosch.

I have explored photography by itself lately, to create either abstract color images or stark black and white images. The images you see in the photographs leaped up and spoke to me and I ran for my camera. There was no other way to capture what I saw; nature spoke most eloquently in sharp shadows in snow, in hills altered by the fading light of the sun or faces in stark chiaroscuro. My father was a skilled photographer, and did most of his work in black and white. I did not start doing photography until five years ago, but recognize his influence in my work.

Some of my work is structural and made from found materials. It is an outgrowth of my love affair with collages. Sometimes encased in a box or manufactured container, the container suggests the contents, but not by what it says on the outside. If it is a typewriter ribbon tin box, it may contain a set of letters that spell a puzzle sentence and a typewriter. A dresser drawer contains a scene in which a woman cuts a man's hair, standing in a small boat while the sun sets behind them and also sits on a golf tee in three-dimension in the forefront. One candy tin contains a vintage slide viewer with homemade pinups from the 1940's.

In discussing the form of my work, you may see that I use complex combinations of horizontals, verticals and diagonals to create a balanced composition based on the Golden Mean. Some works are extremely simple, but they contain a diagonal to show action. In my paintings I utilize muted color to show distance through aerial perspective, warm colors to bring things closer, glowing in a warm light, cool colors showing distance or for overcast skies. I use a limited palette in order to challenge myself and make things appear more realistic. Scale is the most important secret of my surreal collages. These utilize a mixture of scale in order to show the multitude of viewpoints available in the world, demonstrating the concept of "It's all in how you view it." Where you may originally believe the object of the painting is small, it suddenly appears extremely large when you notice the tiny objects in the foreground that put it on a gigantic scale. Or perhaps a disappearing horizon stretches infinitesimally through the door of a house, while the background shows it to be closer, demonstrating unlimited horizons when a door is opened. My surreal collages invoke a multitude of interpretations when viewed, as they utilize symbolism and suggestion when objects are put in conjunction with objects that are normally incongruous and not usually seen in juxtaposition.

Anonymous viewing of the work cannot discern which gender has created it, unless you look at my self-portraits. I was raised as the oldest child of an atomic engineer, who had me accompany him everywhere, throughout all the states in the United States and around the world. These experiences taught me the universality of experience. I identified with everyone and knew I was as good as, though no better than, anyone else. There was no difference between male or female, adult or child, upper or lower class, scientist or washerwoman, myself or the ruler of a country, in my world. I was brought up to politely join in discussions on an equal basis with beggars and kings. This is reflected in my work, along with the all the beauty that I see in this world. It is my purpose to show everyone the incredible depth of surrealism, using humor and irony, the poignant and complex design of the world that I see, as well as how I see it, through my art.

Resume / bio

Education

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions

Collections and Commissions

Professional Affiliations

Bibliography

(Information last updated: 16 December 2004)

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© 2009 Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission
800 2nd Avenue South, 4th Floor
P.O. Box 196300
Nashville TN 37219-6300 		arts@nashville.gov
(615) 862-6720
fax (615) 862-6731