Seavest Collection: John Baeder and the Contemporary American Realists

John Baeder is one of the preeminent Contemporary American Realists. Throughout his professional career he has artfully expressed, in one way or another, his romance with America and the American way of life. He appeared on the art scene in the early 1970's, as one of the "Photorealist" notables. While we are coming to understand that the title "Photorealism" may have been something of a misnomer (in that it suggests slavish photographic recording and fidelity to the subject observed as its primary objective), as the 20th century draws to a close, it is evident that the top ranking members of Post War American Realism - including a handful of the so-called 'Photorealists' - have made an indelible mark, infusing great vitality, strength and energy into Contemporary Art. In fact, John Baeder and a number of his noteworthy colleagues - among them, Charles Bell, Chuck Close, Alex Katz, Don Eddy, Joseph Raffael, and Wayne Thiebaud - have, and continue to provide new approaches and refreshing subject matter for 20th century art, both nationally and globally.

As an art historian, I have found it surprising that 20th century attitudes toward realism are often cavalier; realism, as it has surfaced from time to time in this century, is generally given short shrift as a re-hash of academic verism. Even Post War Realism seems to be viewed as a curiosity, as a faction apart from the mainstream of substantive modernist ideas. As such, it seems to hold only a fleeting interest by virtue of its ability to deftly convey - through virtuoso technique - the fast pace and the complex, multiple reflections of the chrome and glass surfaces of the contemporary environment.

From a 20th century standpoint, it seems that the 'politically correct' definition of modernism should be the pursuit of such endeavors as the challenge posed to the concept of art as a representation of life (in the breakdown of the boundaries between art and material existence); the exploration of the psyche as it extends to concepts about the universal subconscious, or about base, untempered energy; and the wholesale deconstruction of the artistic process. The impulse to explore the boundaries between art and life in the context of the meaning of representation has been given form through the raw dialogue of such artistic enterprise as Assemblage, Environments, and Happenings. To be sure, the positive, cumulative result of such undertakings has been to demand a revision of the definition of art. Rather than seeing it as a symbol of cultural exclusivity, it is now more fully recognized as an expression, extension and part of the totality that is the society within which it is produced. Art is culture; culture is art - more holistically we could even say - art is life; life is art.

In this context, the Contemporary American Realists have understood something very important - that there is no good reason to throw out the proverbial 'baby with the bath water.' Thus, one of their great contributions to the history of art has been the successful merger achieved between the tenets of modernism and the traditions, and traditional materials, of the fine arts. Following in the footsteps of the 17th and 18th century genre painters, the leading American practitioners of later 20th century Realism have transformed the quotidian into brilliant, transcendent imagery. Each Realist genre movement of the past has contained within it the energy (zeitgeist) of the society in which it was produced. For example, 17th century Dutch realism, by the necessity of its culture base, was encoded with moral messages from emblem lore; 18th century Social Realism brought vivid images of lower class values into the homes of the elite. Contemporary American Realism follows suit. With astute powers of observation and the nose of good reporters, the Contemporary American Realists have zoom-lensed onto contemporary scenarios - with a focus on the vernacular. They celebrate, comment and visualize in a substantive way, for present and future generations, upon our society at large, upon democracy as it permeates society and extends itself into daily routine. In their ability to create imagery which is timely (able to capture the essence of the moment in which it is produced) and timeless (able to transcend the moment and connect with mankind's universal archetypes), they join the ranks of the best artists of any age.

Many of the best Contemporary American Realists have staked out territory that they have continued to mine successfully for their entire careers, delighting viewers with the artful transformation of facets of our contemporary lives, through intelligent studied interpretation, and through discipline and rigor in the crafting of their images into high art. Wayne Thiebaud and Carolyn Brady, for example, specialize in the re-formulation of the traditional formats of still life painting. Robert Cottingham focuses his attention on signs, train cars and alphabet series; Richard Estes shares his fascination with major modern cities through extended vistas and panoramas seen in extraordinary, dynamic perspectives. Don Eddy offers intensive exploration of the changing nature of perception as the 20th century eye is bombarded with visual information using a vocabulary of vernacular material such as shoe store windows, car dealerships, toys, travel magazines and the like. The point here is that, curiously, each artist seems to have teamed up with a sector of the fabricated 20th century environment that best suits the development, through their unique artistic vision, of a personal pictorial vocabulary.

On trips through the back roads of America in his youth, John Baeder discovered diners, a special category of American eatery that grew out of a response to the pace and needs of America of the 20s and 30s. He has spent his career as a practicing artist in the diligent pursuit of information about the look, lore, signage, menus and denizens of thousands of diners across the U.S., taking photos, conducting interviews, researching, and collecting related memorabilia. Armed with these precious records, he has set about creating his highly regarded, captivating paintings of these down-to-earth, yet noble structures that lend character to the American landscape and cityscape, and welcome the hungry traveler of all stations of life and society. The corpus of his work has its place not just within the ranks of the celebrated images of art history, but within the realm of material culture, as a precious and lasting testament, a priceless social document, of a fast disappearing American sub culture.

Like Levi's jeans and Coca Cola, Baeder's Diners have - not accidentally - become an American icon. What separates Baeder's Diner paintings from the significant body of work produced by the American Realists as a whole? What distinguishes them? It is the fact that they are the byproduct of his personal love affair with the American heartland. To be sure every great artist is passionate about his subject. However, Baeder has gone the extra step. Like the great social realist photographers Paul Strand and Walker Evans who shed dependence upon fine art photography in favor of the conscientious recording of the living circumstances of the less visible sectors of our enormous country, John Baeder, in his paintings and books, has captured the essence of America. Through his images he has highlighted its regionalism and celebrated the bare bones life styles he found riding along America's backroads (where when bounty lacks, ebullient spirit 'kicks in'). Through his exceptional appreciation of, and sympathy with the colorful mannerisms and mechanisms of Americans from all stations and walks of life, he has been able to imprint upon his diner images the vibration, pulse, curious quirkiness and lightheartedness of America at its best.

Baeder's Diners speak also of the 'American Dream', of a mobile society, democratic and on the move, of the dynamic of our country identified early on by the settlers who kept looking West, pushing our western boundary 3000 miles until they reached the Pacific shore. This restless search for a better life is continued even today by those who shift their home base for a preferable job, or for freedom of expression, and by those who with talent and initiative, or by virtue of education or commercial enterprise give definition to the concept of 'upward mobility.' In this society, caught up in the fast pace of daily routines, the diner is the hearth, a place to stop whether daily, or on route from one place to the next. The diner is the substitute for home - offering welcoming signage, friendly atmosphere, and hearty, tasty, affordable meals. It is no accident then that diners with their colorful exteriors and offbeat accoutrements are a favorite subject of mementos, such as post cards, and figurines.

Baeder's paintings and prints of roadside Diners so capture the pulse of America that his images have entered the secondary market as well, as reproductions on posters, calendars, and postcards. Here the circle between art and material culture closes, since old postcards were an important source of inspiration for his paintings. It is the final signal and affirmation of the unique vision and extraordinary appeal of Baeder's art. In this context, Baeder has demonstrated a stunning understanding of, and original variation on, Pop Art's attention to mass media culture and mechanically produced imagery. It is no accident, then, that the Disney Company, Coca Cola, and the fashion moguls Perry Ellis, Liz Claiborne, and Guess - at times even disregarding copyrights - have appropriated Baeder's imagery. Baeder's Diner images appear on memorabilia oriented merchandise such as painted plates, and in three dimensional versions as butter dishes, planters, canisters, etc. (part of an extensive ceramic line produced by Sigma/Towle in 1979/80). Their appeal is so strong that the authors of a book on art deco chose to illustrate the sleek design of New York CityÕs Empire Diner with BaederÕs highly expressive painting of that diner, rather than with an actual photograph. (Alastair Duncan, American Art Deco [New York: Abrams, 1986], p 162.)

Baeder's singular achievement is expressed not only through his Diner paintings, prints, and books but through his efforts, as well, to build an extraordinary collection of diner related photographs and roadside memorabilia. Together, the entire corpus offers the opportunity to reflect upon and to celebrate the great contribution of the 20th century in historic time. That contribution follows on the heels of the fight for the successful elimination of class boundaries that belongs more to recent past centuries and that, in this century, is represented by the extension of freedom of expression to the largest percentage of the world population. Just as do jeans and casual clothes, yet more substantively and permanently, Baeder's Diners reflect the energy and mores of later 20th century America, and of Western culture in general, in the relaxation of norms of behavior and in the celebration of personal freedom of expression, no matter to which status or class an individual belongs.

For a more detailed printed view of the collection order the book:
	Get Real: Contemporary American Realism from the Seavest Collection Virginia Anne Bonito. Foreword by Michael Philip Mezzatesta, pp. 138, 68 colorplates, 2 b/w photographs Exhibition at DUMA April 4-July 6, 1997. Hard cover $40.00 Soft cover $25.00 To order contact: Duke University Museum of Art Click on Publications