Zapruder Rising, 2018
Four aluminum printing plates, emulsion, ink, solvent
35 x 22.75 inches, each
Zapruder Rising (Cyan), 2018
Four aluminum printing plates, emulsion, ink, solvent
35 x 22.75 inches
Zapruder Rising (Magenta), 2018
Four aluminum printing plates, emulsion, ink, solvent
35 x 22.75 inches
Zapruder Rising (Yellow), 2018
Four aluminum printing plates, emulsion, ink, solvent
35 x 22.75 inches
Zapruder Rising (Black), 2018
Four aluminum printing plates, emulsion, ink, solvent
35 x 22.75 inches
Jornada del Muerto +250,000 years, 2008
A Monoprint
23 x 24 inches, 32 x 43 inches, framed
Jornada del Muerto +400,000 years, 2008
A Monoprint
23 x 24 inches, 32 x 43 inches, framed
WE ARE THE LAND
R. C. Baker
Traced and Plated
November 1 – December 30, 2025
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“Traced and Plated,” a curatorial initiative by JENNIFER BAAHNG titled “WE ARE THE LAND,” showcases the repurposing and transformation of discarded remnants of mass media, providing a compelling reflection on how human actions leave imprints and scars on the land we occupy. It illustrates R.C. Baker’s Jornada abstractions, “Jornada Del Muerto’s,” including the tabloid comprised of two pages entitled ‘President: Why?’, which highlights in magenta the prolonged irradiation of the desert caused by the half-lives of nuclear elements from fallout resulting from weapon testing and radioactive waste stored in extensive subterranean chambers in Southern Texas. The exhibition also features four Plate Paintings, titled “Zapruder Rising,” used to print the tabloid. Coated with inks and solvents in unpredictable and uncontrolled manners, these works constitute self-contained artistic pieces. These artworks embody the artist’s transformative perspective, revealing beauty and depth in the most unexpected places. “Traced and Plated” affirms the enduring vitality of painting by integrating new materials, repurposing physical printing media, and challenging the landscape genre within contemporary art.
The “Jornada Del Muerto” monoprints originated in the early 2000s, during a period when press operators were engaged in cleaning high-speed newspaper presses with solvent sprays, eager to commence new printing runs. As the print cylinders decelerated, the solvents dispersed. When these solvents interacted with the residual inks, the articles, graphics, and halftone photographs initially printed for the Village Voice Literary Supplement were transformed into bulbous blurs of irradiated color. This process produced serendipitous abstractions on the final pages as the large presses gradually halted. Baker transferred these sheets to his studio and, in 2008, completed them by adding titles — “Jornada del Muerto +250,000 Years” and “Jornada del Muerto +400,000 Years” — which were inspired by his research into atomic bomb testing and nuclear waste repositories in the deserts of the American Southwest. These titles (the English translation being “Journey of the Dead Man”) refer to a desolate yet majestically bleak desert landscape in New Mexico.
A decade later, Baker published a tabloid newspaper that served as a catalog for one of his exhibitions. He recognized the potential to establish a conceptual loop by reproducing one of the “Jornada” abstractions. In the two pages of the tabloid, referred to as ‘President: Why?’, he incorporated magenta to highlight the prolonged irradiation of the desert resulting from the decay of nuclear elements in fallout from weapon testing and radioactive waste stored in extensive underground chambers. The four plates utilized to print the tabloid’s “Jornada del Muerto +250,000 Years” spread—covered with inks and solvents in uncontrolled and unpredictable manners—became standalone artworks, despite the pressmen viewing them as suitable only for recycling the aluminum substrates. These two pages were complemented by another set featuring images such as an existential quote from President Nixon—“Why?”—and a frame from Abraham Zapruder’s 8mm film of the JFK assassination. The vibrant, lava-lamp-like blobs of color evoked a title combining tragedy and elegance: “Zapruder Rising,” a collection of four plate paintings.
Traced and Plated affirms that the material history of our media is deeply interconnected with the ecological future of the Earth. Our industrial endeavors have left enduring marks of control, extraction, and waste on the land. By presenting a novel and compelling visual framework in contemporary art, where material and aesthetic intent converge into a unified art form, the exhibition extends beyond a historical perspective. It contextualizes present ecological challenges, including severe land and water contamination and the subtle yet significant impacts of climate change. It elucidates the intrinsic link between media cycles, materials, and ecological realities in a new genre of landscape paintings. WE ARE THE LAND: Traced and Plated emphasizes the abstract beauty and residual history embedded within the artwork, encouraging reflection on the land we inhabit, as both chroniclers and bearers of scars.
ARTIST