 |
| Reginald Baylor
Ovular Foliage, 2004,
Acrylic on canvas
72 x 48 in.
Collection of the artist |
 |
| Reginald Baylor
When a Rectangle Became King, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
84 x 38 in.
Collection of the artist |
 |
Trenton Baylor
Roots, 2003
Fiberglass, maple
36 x 36 x 45 in.
Collection of the artist
|
 |
Trenton Baylor
Buffet, 2003
Wood and aluminum
42 x 52 x 22 in.
Collection of the artist
|
|
Curtis L. Carter: How does art fit into the life of a truck driver?
Reginald Baylor: I just call it my day job. I can meditate constantly and not be distracted by office personnel or politics. The task is fairly simple and that allows me to imagine and see things, like landscapes—the American landscape and different neighborhoods along with freeways. I convert everything into shapes and colors, a square, a rectangle or a triangle infused with color to the point that it becomes a dream or dreamlike.
CLC: How did your process evolve?
RB: I have been working this way for about thirteen years. Prior to that, my work was more expressionistic. The colors were not as bright and my style was looser. I was fascinated with Jean-Michel Basquiat. I like anything that has a line and as I experimented with my painting style, I gravitated toward using straight edges, lines and basic colors. The more I painted the more my style evolved.
CLC: Would you consider your work to be representational?
RB: Yes, because it is refers to things in the world that I have seen.
CLC: Did you paint as a child and what were some of your first experiences making art?
RB: As a child you paint, color and draw. The pieces that I kept from my childhood seem to have consistent elements of perspective, line and shape. During the summers, I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum for classes. One of my most vivid memories comes from riding the bus and seeing parking lots, buildings and gas stations, and then having to reproduce a picture from memory. I attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where my emphasis was on sculpture. After I left Oshkosh and got married, I moved to California and had a family; so sculpture was not an option. I did not have the materials or space and my family became the priority. That is when I began to paint. I paint in acrylics—I like flat solid images with no visible brush strokes. Acrylics dry quickly which enables me to create the straight edges in my paintings.
CLC: What would you say is most important about your work?
RB: I enjoy what I do. I do not paint to receive a response. I don’t paint for praise or recognition. When artists are telling the truth about what they are attempting to accomplish and are being consistent and passionate, I often appreciate that more than the actual work of art. The sacrifices I have made and my wife has made in order for me to be able to paint consistently are what is most important to me. I like to talk about the process— in particular the battle between process and the finished product. It could be called a labor of love or a real struggle.
CLC: How would you describe your process?
RB: The battle between the process and outcome is a struggle, but it is also fun.... It depends on responses. Subjects that might be seen as dark— certain homes or landscapes, for example—could appear as places people may not want to visit. After I add color, however, I can give the subject a completely different perspective. By adding color there is more going on —I try to make everything artificial.
CLC: What do you mean by artificial?
RB: Take for instance the flowers in my paintings…they are purely geometric. They are composed of straight angles and lines—it is like I am giving you a commercial. A dozen artificial roses can still be beautiful, but they are artificial. I can paint an abandoned structure or a beautiful house and make either one appear just as appealing—it is a transformation. In When the Rectangle Became King, I started with a pristine landscape and allowed it to be dissolved into triangular forms to show how a landscape might be transformed.
CLC: How does being an artist fit in with being an educator?
Trenton baylor: Being a teacher allows me to share my passion. There is something wonderful about seeing my students develop their talents. At first they struggle, but by the end of their academic careers they are really focused. I am impressed by the students’ willingness to try anything and willingness to fail. When I am done teaching, I get to go home and actually practice what I preach. I know that it is important to students to know that what I teach is actually what I practice.
CLC: Where were you educated?
TB: I studied first at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside as an undergraduate and then completed a Masters in Fine Arts at UW-Madison.
CLC: You studied as a painter, but became a sculptor. What brought about the transition?
TB: My paintings represent what I couldn’t do in sculpture because I did not have the means; yet I had to express myself somehow. Later I learned to sculpt. The last painting I did was a large piece about engine parts—it had a lot of different details. The parts were made to look like they were breaking out of a traditional rectangular space. When it came time to make the frame, I used aluminum and bolted the ends together. There was something more enjoyable about making the frame than making the painting — it was more physical. From that point on, I knew that I was a sculptor, not a painter. I need to be able to physically manipulate the material.
CLC: What is it that you like about sculpture?
TB: Sculpture is more physical. Painting doesn’t do anything for me. It works for Reggie, but I need a hammer, I need noise, I need to be able to manipulate material. I need to be able to touch all the sides of a piece, to feel texture. I still draw, it is very important, but it is essentially for what I am doing in sculpture. I have to get my ideas down on paper before I can actually start making a piece, otherwise I run into too many problems. I have developed the skills to be able to construct a form in my head, but it helps to be able to turn to a piece of paper just to see what it truly looks like. Something that looks good in your head looks different on paper and translates differently in sculptural form.
CLC: You say that you are interested in structure. Let us talk about that for a moment.
TB: I am, and have always been interested in how things are built, how they are constructed. I am interested in the way sculpture is put together, the way houses, buildings, trucks and pieces of equipment are put together. I love to look under things. I like the inner parts of things. I try to incorporate all of that into my artwork. I try to make structure a focal point of my art. Structure shouldn’t always be hidden.
CLC: Have you looked at the Russian Constructivists?
TB: I was influenced by the Futurists because they embraced machinery and Constructivism for its use of non-traditional materials and different construction methods. I continue to look for new materials or different combinations of materials. With every piece I create, I try to learn something new. I force myself to do a certain amount of research to develop new ways to think about form.
CLC: When you do research, how do you do that?
TB: It may mean an internet search or going to the library to find books on whatever I am doing or talking to someone older that has knowledge on the subject.
CLC: What was the idea behind Display Case, 2004?
TB: The concept was to create a display case, but not a traditional display case. I did not want to use any wood for the structure—I wanted to use all steel. I did not want to cover up any of the welds— I wanted to make all the welds obvious. I had to use a different welding technique to achieve that.
CLC: And what is that technique?
TB: The technique is called TIG welding. It is a much more precise method of welding that offers greater control.
CLC: How does the question of form and function relate to this particular work.
TB: I see them as equal. This is a piece that is meant to be used. It is designed to stand on its own as a sculptural form…it will hold an object, but it should stand on its own.
CLC: Would you describe this work as beautiful?
TB: I aim to make beautiful things when I create organic forms, but it is not necessarily about beauty. In some instances, it’s more about mechanics and structure than beauty. It is not that mechanical and three-dimensional forms can’t be beautiful, but it is more about how the work is put together and how it functions than it is about beauty. I could hide the drawing, but it needs to be obvious.
CLC: In what sense is it experimental?
TB: All of my recent works have been experiments. I had been doing much more traditional sculpture up until now…although I had also been doing some kinetic work. Now I am thinking more about form than I have been about function. I am trying to reevaluate things and to get myself to think differently about sculpture—what is and is not sculpture. Can furniture be considered sculpture or does it have to fall into the craft category? Initially I said no, furniture can not be sculpture; but I continue to work in this category that is typically called craft. I think it should be considered sculpture—just because something has a function, does not mean that it is not sculpture.
CLC: What are you trying to accomplish with this particular show?
TB: To have fun, to experiment, to try to really enjoy the experience and to really think about art. For so long, I have been doing art for all the wrong reasons— to show, to get tenure, to get security, but I have not been happy about my art for a long time. This body of work needed to be therapy for me and it has been.
TRENTON AND REGINALD
CLC: As you look ahead, where would you like to go?
TB: I see myself doing furniture from now on. This does not mean that I won’t do some traditional sculpture or less functional forms. There is a certain amount of pleasure in creating a form that someone can set a cup of coffee or a magazine on…or put in the corner of the room with a vase on top of it. I think people appreciate sculpture more if it has a function. So often we talk about sculpture as something that sits in the middle of the room and doesn’t do much other than take up space. So I am turning things around and saying why not make the things you put under the sculpture the actual sculpture? Making sculpture more common appeals to me. Isamu Noguchi’s table, for example, represents a great infusion of sculpture into everyday life.
CLC: What are you trying to accomplish with the Haggerty Museum of Art exhibition?
RB: This is the largest body of my work shown in any one place. I want to keep it vast enough to be stimulating and to convey my artistic truth. I have a purpose in why I paint the way that I do. I want to be consistent—the consistency serves as an affirmation of my artistic convictions.
CLC: What do you mean by the truth in your art?
RB: I always get to the point where I ask, is that fine art? The colors I use are almost cartoonish. Andy Warhol and Keith Haring seem to dance on that line—I, too, like being on that edge. James Rosenquist was a billboard painter doing commercial work but he was able to become accepted as a fine art painter. In actuality, however, his work it is still commercial. I like that. You can read articles on Basquiat and ask yourself, is he just into graffiti or is he a fine artist?
CLC: Did you want to be a commercial artist?
RB: I had no intention of becoming a commercial artist. My work was considered simple and innocent. I did a lot of installation work—sometimes quite cynical and dark. I love to paint and I love the process and I am consistent with it. When I look at a Robert Motherwell or a Cy Twombly, I am more in awe at what they did than what I do. My style is different, but it is consistent and that is important to me. I am very calculated—my color choices are as carefully chosen as those of Ellsworth Kelly or Roy Lichtenstein.
CLC: Will you go back to sculpture?
RB: I will sculpt again. I have more formal training in sculpture than I have in painting. It is a question of space, time and materials that have kept me in painting. If you look at my landscapes you can see that the method of building-up the surface is similar to how one sculpts. It is just a different approach.
CLC: Will you go back to painting?
TB: I will not paint again. Painting and sculpture have their links, but they are quite different. I can only visually build a three-dimensional surface on canvas, but I can physically build a three-dimensional sculpture and take parts away or add to it. I can manipulate it with hard plastics much more than I can with a paintbrush. I can also turn it. With a painting I am restricted to the flat surface.
CLC: Will we see any changes in your work following the Haggerty exhibition?
TB: It will be a wonderful experience to have the show at the Haggerty Museum. I think I am taking a big enough risk showing all furniture.
RB: After this show I will start experimenting, perhaps with more figurative work. In that sense, the Haggerty has helped me close a chapter of what I have been doing. It will lead to changes in my future work.
|
