![Q&A [Question and Artist]: Jaana Baker](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58bb213420099e5b48771d3b/1619213538959-R3EVT2AOKXLKM0DSGKTQ/Baker%2C+Jaana_Colonized.jpg)
Q&A [Question and Artist]: Jaana Baker
Meet Jaana Baker. We are that excited to that Jaana (she/her) is making her Brea Gallery debut in our 2021 Made in California Exhibition as the Solo Show Winner! Jaana was gracious enough to answer a few questions about her multi-layered show and the exploration of her identity.
[Brea Art Gallery]: How, in your own words, do you identify and how is that identity a part of your art practice?
[Jaana Baker]: I identify as a Filipino-American cisgender woman. I am an artist, a mother, and overall curious human. These identities are part of my practice because everything I experience goes into the well from which my art is drawn. Art is life, and life is art!
Poppies and Sampaguitas
[Brea Art Gallery]: Who inspires you to create?
[Jaana Baker]: There are various things and people that have inspired me to create throughout my life. In my youth, I was inspired by comic book greats like Stan Lee and Jim Lee. I then went through a phase where the only art I deemed worthy was figurative and representational, so I gravitated to the works of Old Masters like Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio. Now, I have much more appreciation for contemporary, vocal, and more conceptual work, such as those by Wang Jin, Ai Weiwei, and Stephanie Syjuco. In addition to an eclectic list of artists and creators, I am inspired by my travels, my experiences, and my emotions. Basically, anything and everything I come in contact with can be inspiration. My daughter is also a huge inspiration! She inspires me to create because often times she will want something that doesn’t exist yet, and I love making things that are unique and one-of-a-kind. From clothes to stories and cakes, she has inspired me to make things that would never have been on my radar. For example, she once asked for a dress patterned with her favorite fish, the pufferfish, and try as I might, I couldn’t find one ready-made because apparently there isn’t great demand for pufferfish apparel, so I designed one and had it made for her. Little things like this also become some of my favorite work.
[Brea Art Gallery]: How would you describe your series Poppies and Sampaguitas?
[Jaana Baker]: I would describe Poppies and Sampaguitas as an eclectic exploration of the intersection of my identity as a Filipino-American woman. On its face, it is a multi-media series, made up of photography, paintings, and sculptures, centered around a custom dress I made based on the traditional Filipino dress called a terno, but made from the non-traditional material of holographic PVC. It is a series based on my experiences, collided with my love for color and experimentation with different media. On its substance, the series is also pretty eclectic. Growing up as a so-called “1.5 generation immigrant,” I have internalized a lot of things--from cultural expectations and gender roles, to body image, misogyny, racism, and microaggressions—that only now, as a fully-grown adult with my own family, am I beginning to unpack. Poppies and Sampaguitas comments on a lot of these toxic aspects of my experience, but also acknowledges that these are what makes me who I am. Much like the holographic PVC dress that is the main subject of the series—a dress that is beautiful but cumbersome—my experiences are both my armor and my burden. The work that has come out of it serves a reminder of the work I have yet to do, that we all have to do, to keep unpacking and keep growing. To me, it represents that although facing these issues head-on can be painful, beauty and joy can come from it. Poppies and Sampaguitas is the sum of the pain and the joy that has made me.
[Brea Art Gallery]: What do you find gratifying or freeing about being an artist?
[Jaana Baker]: The most gratifying and freeing thing I find about being an artist is being able to communicate something that is difficult to put into words, or can’t be put into words. There’s something to be said about communicating a very strong, complex emotion at-a-glance. Also, the act of creating in-and-of-itself is freeing, because I think most artists have this nagging need to create. It is ever-present and there comes a point that if the need is not fulfilled, the artist becomes shackled, and it becomes more painful not to create. Whether it’s painting boring old landscapes, or making emotional work like Poppies and Sampaguitas, or just making silly things for my daughter and myself, it is all gratifying and freeing for me.
[Brea Art Gallery]: Do you have any tips or advice for young artists, specifically young Asian American artists?
[Jaana Baker]: It feels kind of strange being the one to be giving advice! I am still navigating the art world myself, but I would say that from my experience, one of the biggest struggles that Asian American artists have in their journey is not having the support from their parents or family in their wish to become artists. There is a lot of pressure to pursue more “practical” professions, and often times this lack of support and encouragement is very deflating and painful. I would advise to surround yourself with people who support you and your art: make a lot of “art friends,” and pursue romantic interests who don’t look down on art and artists. Don’t be afraid to turn to and make friends with your professors and teachers, because often times they have been where you are, and they can be your biggest advocates and your strongest champions. I would also advise that every part of your identity is valid, and your experience as an Asian-American is unique and comes with its own variables separate from your parents and grandparents. Your voice and your stories matter! Growing up, I felt a lot of pressure to be one or the other, to be Filipino or to be American, and instead what ended up happening was the desire to recoil from both identities. I wish somebody had emphasized to me that it is okay to be both, that all my experiences are valid, and that I wasn’t alone. And yes, lastly, you are not alone!
[Brea Art Gallery]: What are five things you can’t live without?
[Jaana Baker]: Besides the obvious things like food, water, and family, I would say I can’t live without the following things: music, dance, art, my phone, and pockets. Honorable mention goes to the Instant Pot; changed my life, not even lying.
[Brea Art Gallery]: What was the last book you read?
[Jaana Baker]: One of my quarantine hobbies has been learning Italian, so the last book I read was “Il Piccolo Principe,” the Italian language translation of “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I had never read it before, not even in English, and it’s so beautiful!
[Brea Art Gallery]: Where else can we see your work, or what’s coming up next for you?
[Jaana Baker]: You can see my work on Instagram @jaja.vidal. I also have a website, jaanabaker.com, and I have some of my work and designs for sale on Society6, Etsy, and Spoonflower.com. As for what’s next, the sky’s the limit. I am so grateful to the Brea Gallery for giving me this opportunity to express my voice! I hope to keep creating, to keep building on my work about the Filipino diaspora experience, and to continue making a living as an artist. I also love to travel and to experience other countries and cultures, so hopefully I will do more of that when the pandemic subsides. In the meantime, I will keep making art here in my own backyard. Thank you for this opportunity, and come see the Made in California exhibition at the Brea Gallery. The whole show is amazing!
Jaana Baker
Biography
Jaana (aka Jaja) is a Filipino-American artist and photographer based in Southern California. She loves all things visual art, and specializes in painting and drawing, and photography. She also loves dance, with many of her subjects and clients being dancers. She has been a professional photographer for over 10 years, and has recently started to venture into fine art with her paintings. Her work has been featured in Voyage LA and Mosaic magazine.
Thank you so much to Jaana for sharing a bit of herself with us! See Jaana’s solo show, Poppies and Sampaguitas, as part of the 2021 Made in California Juried Exhibition from April 24th to June 18th.
The Brea Gallery is proud to present Poppies and Sampaguitas, a series that explores artist Jaana Baker’s identity as a Filipino-American woman through photography, sculpture, and textile design. Centered around a hand-constructed garment - a traditional Filipino dress called a terno - the body of work dives deep into layers of the artist’s sense of self through concepts of femininity, culture and tradition, gender roles, colonialism, and body image. All tied together by the vivid materiality of the dress made from holographic PVC, the end result is a colorful and eclectic representation of both tradition and modernity that attempts to capture the essence of Jaana’s very personal immigrant experience.
Filipino Folk Dance with Kayamanan Ng Lahi -
Saturday, June 12th at 12pm - free!
Join us for the live streaming of this amazing performance by Jaana Baker's dance group to celebrate the Philippines Independence Day!
Wednesday through Sunday noon to 5pm.
$3 General Admission
No reservations needed, masks required.
