Date of Award

Spring 5-11-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Studio Art

First Advisor

David Amico

Second Advisor

Rachel Lachowicz

Third Advisor

Michael Reafsnyder

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2024 Aaron D. Baldon

Abstract

What I create comes from without and from within. It can be intellectual and/or experiential. It is informed by research and interpretation, yet it is raw and unaltered. In most cases, the experience flows through my natural synesthesia, wherein I literally see the unseen sensations such as auditory and physical stimuli. I don’t try to create palatable images, because the world is a dark and brutal place, and I have been there. Working with ink or high-flow acrylic on raw canvas is similar to a tattoo artist working with needle and ink on human skin - no mistakes can be made, but if they are made, they are part of the artwork, forever. I am constantly at war with perfectionism and spontaneity, trying to allow the process to happen, but fighting the desire to prevent unintentionality. My methods and techniques are heavily influenced by my upbringing. As a child growing up in a poor Chicano suburb of downtown Los Angeles, I felt fortunate to have a rich cultural heritage of a Chicana mother from Los Angeles, a father from an Indigenous pueblo in New Mexico with ancient and sacred traditions, and a grandmother from a small village in Hawaii. I enlisted in the U.S. Army, quickly rising in rank, and deployed to an infamous mountainous area of Afghanistan. There I was a part of the war, and deeply and emotionally entrenched in the experience of a Soldier and the war’s impact on the surrounding population. After my service in the U.S. Army, I received my BFA and lived in Europe, seeking a change of environment. While there, I endured the attempted invasion of the city of Kyiv in Ukraine, surviving for a month with my fiance and her son while the war ravaged around us. This gave me yet another perspective on war, as I saw the effect of war on people very close to me who were not Soldiers. War scars everyone, whether physically or emotionally. It reshapes landscapes - physically, culturally, and ethnographically. Unfortunately, war has become an abstract concept to most. With my art, I can stir emotions, finding a more powerful connection with viewers than I could with words alone.

Link To Artist's Gallery

www.aarondbaldon.com/studio-art

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