G. Marvin Baker was born in 1933. A native of Pavo, a small town in southern Georgia, he grew up in a rural setting of peach and pecan orchards, tobacco and cotton fields, and gardens of sweet potatoes, okra and field peas in a town known as ÒDixieÕs Garden Spot.Ó Except for one grandmother who thought her flower garden was the most important thing in life (her garden was always filled with color), he was born into a family who thought the ÒflowerÓ business and the ÒartisticÓ business inappropriate, so he was pushed toward education as a profession and also as a practical matter: science rather than art because science teachers always have jobs. Valedictorian of his 24-member high school class, he went on to work his way through Berry College in Rome, Georgia and to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Science with minors in Education and English. Teaching and learning, learning and teaching, he pursued the academic life of a creative student and creative teacher of Science, Biology and Botany through Birmingham Southern University and the University of Georgia until he retired in 1999 as Professor of Biology in the University System of Georgia. Impressed with his control of color and design, his first grade teacher invited Marvin to go to Chicago for a summer with her where she worked with the Disney Company as an artist. MarvinÕs parents thought that was entirely too far from Pavo and though eager (especially to ride on the train! And to see!), he didnÕt goÉ so art remained on the sidelinesÉ but the creative life never entirely disappeared and when opportunities arose he directed plays and was involved with stage, set and costume design for college theater, he taught creative writing at the college level, he taught in the School of Landscape Design at the University of GeorgiaÉ and he created drawing and paintings as gifts for his family and friends. Always an artist, he finally announced it when he retired from his science and education activities. Scientists and Artists are similar in that they are observers; they both look at things closely and acutely. In that sense, a life in science and in education, a life of teaching others to see, is a wonderful preparation for an artist. What you see in BakerÕs images is his vision of what he personally sees by being open to seeing more than initially appears. Since his retirement, BakerÕs collages and prints have been shown in Georgia, Pennsylvania and New York including 4 one-man shows during the North Branch Arts Festival, Photography: Three Perspectives, a three-person show at the AFA Gallery in Scranton, a number of group shows at the Blue Heron Gallery in Wyalusing and the AFA Gallery in Scranton; he also shows at the Kalmanson Gallery in Georgia. His works are included in private collections in Boston, Manhattan, Philadelphia, Washington and Atlanta. |
