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James B. Baker, M.F.A., Professor Emeritus

James B. Baker, M.F.A.

James B. Baker, M.F.A.

Position
Academic Background
Sample Courses    
Teaching Philosophy

Research & Interests   
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards

Publication/Exhibition Highlights  
Selected Scholarly Presentations

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Position

  • Professor Emeritus of Art
  • Retired in 2008 after 37 years of teaching at Providence College

Academic Background        

  • Rhode Island School of Design - M.F.A., 1973
  • Rhode Island School of Design - B.F.A., 1965
  • Providence College - B.A., 1959

Sample Courses Taught at Providence College

  • Painting I & VI
  • Drawing IV & V
  • Introduction to Conceptual Art

Teaching Philosophy

I believe that visual knowledge is a great untapped reservoir.  It enables us to fully appreciate the legacy of the past, to comprehend the complexity of our contemporary world and to imaginatively explore possibilities for the future.  Perhaps, most importantly, if we are to maintain a spiritual life, then we must realize our creative potential through education in the visual arts.


Research & Interests

I am primarily a painter and I also work in related media including video and sculptural installations.  The inspiration for my work comes from a reverence for the natural world which I see as a source of spiritual symbolism and metaphor.

Research on the late German artist Joseph Beuys is ongoing.  The interdisciplinary range and technical originality of Beuys' work as well as his deeply spiritual concerns inform my teaching.

The relationship between art and nature has also inspired my interest in Japanese garden design and the collecting of Art Nouveau tiles.


Notable Academic Appointments and Awards

  • Honorary founding member, Art League of RI, 2001-present
  • First prize, Newport Art Museum, Annual Juried Exhibition (1998)
  • PC faculty research grants (1975, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1997)
  • Individual Painting Fellowship, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (1972)

Publication/Exhibition Highlights

Publications

  • Blues, by John Hersey: 13 drawings (Alfred A. Knopf, 1987)
  • The Fishes, with poems by Jane Lunin Perel: 17 drawings and 7 photographs (Providence College Press, 1977)

Exhibitions

  • 30-Year Retrospective, Newport Art Museum (1999)
  • One Person Exhibition, Hillier Art Center, Smith College, Northampton, MA (1983)
  • One Person Exhibition, Green Collections Gallery, Tokyo (1982)
  • "Rhode Island Artists," Museum of Art, RISD (1981)
  • Open Painting Exhibition, Providence Art Club, First Prize (1979)
  • "A Sense of Place," traveling national exhibition of 19th and 20th Century American Landscape Painting (1972)
  • Works in public and private collections, including:
    • Museum of Art, RISD
    • Wellesley College Museum of Art
    • Bowdoin College Museum of Art
    • Blue Cross / Blue Shield Collection of 20th Century American Art
    • Portsmouth Abbey School
    • Newport Art Museum

Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities

  • "Beuys and Jung: Alchemical Healers," Jungian Society Conference (2004)
  • "Beuys, Jung and Alchemy," Jungian Society Conference (2003)
  • "Art Nouveau Tiles," Gallery Lecture, Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT (2000)
  • "Art Nouveau Tiles," Gallery Lecture, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA (1999)
  • "Joseph Beuys, Prints and Multiples," Guest Curator, Newport Art Museum (1996)

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