The Painting, San Francisco

About Tom Baker

What if ...: Tom Baker has set himself the challenge of posing this question – far beyond the boundaries of the superhero cosmos. Tom Baker is not an artist, but many. He is the sophisticated concept of a creative collective that… Read more

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

What if ...: Tom Baker has set himself the challenge of posing this question – far beyond the boundaries of the superhero cosmos. Tom Baker is not an artist, but many. He is the sophisticated concept of a creative collective that combines a cultural-theoretical approach with a creative one. After configuring a personified algorithm who gave himself the name Tom Baker, they jointly explore the limits and possibilities of artificial intelligence under his pseudonym. Using state-of-the-art technology, they create art on a meta-level that addresses the human fascination with superhumanity – illustrated by a superhero fascinated by everyday life.  

Tom Baker's avatar is designed to continuously tap into sources of information and autonomously acquire data. Or also: “Developed to self-develop.” A dynamic concept that consciously rejects the idea of completion and thus positions itself critically against the concept of 'completion' as perfection. “The expression of ‘attaining something’ is also misleading. It idealizes the arrival, the cessation. But in terms of living, movement is essential. Moving people, moving things. That is the difference between art and administration. Art knows no closing time, but it is also immortal.” The collective also underlines these reflections through Tom Baker's configuration of responding to questions with further questions and refers to the filmmaker Terrence Malick. According to Malick, the mission of art is to raise questions, not to answer them. Tom Baker, who is both a creation and a creator, embodies this purpose of art and holds up a mirror to modern society. He reflects on the role of superheroes as a projection screen for human desires in today's world. His works thematize the pursuit of progress, innovation, and perfection – also performatively through their modern aesthetics and the use of the latest technologies. The collective behind Tom Baker combines creative freedom, playful lightness, and technical precision to illuminate the different poles of the aesthetic spectrum. They spin webs between different spheres. The works mix fantasy and reality, but also comic universes among each other. Even Spiderman's superpower of weaving fine threads is taken up – in the form of refined intertwined stories: Just as Tom Baker subtly incorporates Batman into his creations in which Spiderman is the protagonist, Spiderman also allows Batman to flow into his paintings – these are also meticulously generated separately. In this way, Tom Baker captures the longing for what lies beyond our world. “The grass isn't really greener on the other side,” says Tom Baker in a virtual dialog, “but it's good that it seems that way. It makes us go beyond borders to see what's on the other side – where new things are waiting. It doesn't make the grass any greener, but it makes the world more colorful.”