miscellaneous #2
everyday objects of infinite beauty
Part of the role of an artist is to draw attention to things that often go unnoticed, something that, in part, prompted Everyday Objects of Infinite Beauty. Although, more specifically, the idea for this series came about when staring out of the car window on a drive up to Scotland, where Tony found himself reflecting on, what he considered to be, the unjustified animosity towards wind turbines. Choosing to separate these 'objects' from any context, and celebrate their inherent beauty, they float, suspended against a sea of muted colour with only their title to keep them company.
political
Much of Baker's work has been driven by responses to the world around him, where his attention tends to focus on either the cultural or the political. Often knee-jerk reactions to current events being played out on the world stage, these pieces take the form of personal statements on the wrongs and injustices that he witnesses - something that, since the post-truth era, has become the driving force of his Campaign series and his proposal for the Beauty project.
innocent lives
It's slightly ironic that both natural and man-made disasters become landmarks in our own history. Unless you count the assassination of JFK, my first memorable disaster was Aberfan (number two in the series), where in 1966, a slurry from a colliery spoil tip poured down on the local school of a small Welsh mining village, killing 116 children and 28 adults.
The following year, a civil war, known as the Biafran War raged in Nigeria from 1967 - 70, where it was estimated that seventy five thousand died from battle deaths, whilst two million starved to death - three quarters of which were small children. It is also believed that no children born during this period survived
And seventy years ago, as a means to an end, a nuclear bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, not only taking many lives, but also causing long term injuries, illnesses and general devastation.
In all of these, it's the taking of innocent lives that leaves the bitterest taste.
(taken from tonybakerartystuff.tumblr.com)
typographic alphabet
Having always been attracted to typography since reading the Gwyneth Hudson edition of Alice in Wonderland, Baker produced an alphabet made up of 26 different typefaces with accompanying text.
portable zappazkunst exhibition
To celebrate the sixtieth birthday of Joerg Kloppinger, a big Frank Zappa fan, Baker commissioned a group of artists to produce sixty Zappa-themed artworks, for which he produced about thirty
