Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Matt Baca: Writer, historian and artist

Melissa Hubbell News-Bulletin Staff Writer; mhubbell@news-bulletin.com

Belen For a great portion of his life, Matt Baca has used words as a source of expression — as a teacher — to communicate ideas to his students. And as a writer, Baca put words and sentences together to form stories: beautiful, haunting stories of the past.

Now, as an artist, Baca carves, draws and paints the pictures of historical stories and figures he has spent a lifetime writing about.

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For the last eight years Matt Baca, a resident of Belen, has taken up the art of retablo making. A retablo is a painting typically done on a woodcarving. Usually, the paintings are religious in nature depicting saints, the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ.

"Retablos are an ancient form of religious expression by the New Mexico colonial people. They were trying to be close to God by self expression," Baca said.

These ancient colonial people would use bark from trees, glass or tin to carve an image. Baca himself doesn't use tin for his artwork. He prefers soft wood such as oak that he carves himself, or wood that has some kind of historical significance.

Many of Baca's retablos have been created using wood from old World War II ammunition boxes that a friend of his had stored in his garage.

"(I thought) that'd be something great to use for artwork," Baca said. "I think of it as something good coming out of something tragic."

As a teacher, historian and writer, Baca has spent years researching and sharing the history of specific individuals and events in Valencia County and New Mexico.

For most of his life, he was content with writing these in-depth accounts of New Mexico's past. That is, until, he began creating pictures to the words he cared so much for.

"There's so much out there. So much that went on. They say a picture's worth a thousand words," Baca said, adding that when he was a teacher, many times his students wouldn't understand a certain math concept if he was just explaining it. However, if he drew a picture of that concept, usually the students grasped the idea much more easily.

Some of the historical events that Baca created in art include a drawing of the infamous Jarales Shootout of 1930, a retablo of Santo Nino de Atoche and a hand carving of a Native American in traditional dress.

Although he enjoys both writing and creating retablos, Baca said working with his hands, especially carving, is a very relaxing activity for him. And while he loves to research and write, he said sometimes being a historian can take a little more motivation, intellect and time.

"Writing is more intellectual and art more physical. What's similar is that you're being creative, and when you create you feel a sense of accomplishment," Baca said.

Baca describes his creations as a "blend of materials, methods and imagery exemplified by Spanish colonial art."

His retablos are a blend of historical, artistic and religious elements, though Baca said if he had to choose one, the religious element would definitely be the most important.

"I feel that without religion, I'd be nothing. What you have, everything that is yours, it's yours because God gave it to you," Baca said. "To me, it's an element of devotion to draw Christ, Our Lady or the saints."

Although Baca said he is not interested in selling his work, he has on many occasions given retablos or crosses he's carved to family and friends.

He tells about a specific relative of his that was very sick. To lift her spirits, Baca gave her a drawing of the Virgin Mary he had done. Not long after, the woman got well.

"She claims it is one of the reasons she recovered," Baca said.

Theresa Baca, Matt's wife of more than 40 years, said that she couldn't be prouder of her husband's art. She loves to hear Baca tell her that someone is interested in his art and wants to come to see it.

At one time though, until the Bacas renovated the small home in back of their house, she wasn't as happy with his work, she jokes.

A year ago, the couple began the arduous task of completely redoing the interior and exterior of the extra house on their property. Baca came up with the idea to renovate the house for the purpose of displaying his art, with two rooms simply for artwork and a sitting room.

Until then, Theresa said, her husband's seven years worth of drawings, paintings and woodcarving had been lying around the house in random places.

The couple both said that they are happy with the remodeled house, which is now known as the art studio.

When asked what he wants others to get out of his artwork Baca said he simply wants them to enjoy it.

"The best thing, for me, is for them to enjoy it. If my wife likes it, I'm so happy. It's the greatest joy.

"I'm not saying it's perfect, but its there for enjoyment, and each drawing has a certain message," Baca said.

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