Artist Paints Portrait(s) of Galesburg's People

The Artist-in-Residence this fall at Knox College wants to paint a picture of the people of Galesburg -- more than 300 of them.

During a three-month residency with the Knox College Art Department, John Bakker, a Chicago-based artist and educator, will be producing a multi-part work he calls the Galesburg Portrait Project​.​ His goal is to make portraits of more than 300 local residents -- at least 1% of the city's population.

"Since the mid 90s, I've been producing public artworks consisting of hundreds of hand painted portraits of the people who make up various communities," Bakker explains. In 2004 he painted portraits of over 500 people from the neighborhood around Chicago's 6th District Police Station. In 2010 he created an exhibit featuring hundreds of portraits based on photos from the on-line student directory at Wheaton College.

"Throughout history, portraits have been painted mostly for the wealthy and powerful," Bakker says. "What interests me is the way a hand made portrait shows the unique meaning and dignity of the individual. The time and attention given to painting a portrait is a way of valuing people for who they are, not what they achieve or the money they make."

Painted portraits provide a striking contrast with our "culture of instant images that are as disposable as they are convenient, as well as the attractive but highly manipulated advertising images that actually undermine our sense of dignity," Bakker says.

Bakker has already started working, by preparing more than 300 wooden panels that he will bring to Galesburg in September. Ultimately the individual panels will be arranged in a single massive display, 6 feet tall and 20 feet wide, but can be reconfigured to fit a variety of exhibit spaces. Because the portraits are on panels of boxes, the project can be placed next to a wall, or free-standing in an exhibit area.

"My hope is that it will travel around the community to schools, storefronts, public buildings before finding a permanent home in Galesburg," Bakker says.

The next step is soliciting photos from people who would like to be included in the Galesburg Portrait Project. Photos can be e-mailed to galesburgportraits@gmail.com. After September 10, printed photos can be delivered in person to Bakker at The Box, 306 E. Simmons. Submissions should include the name and occupation of the person pictured.

"As an option, you can include a few words about Galesburg as a community because I am considering the possibility of including your text within the portraits," Bakker says.

​More information on the project and full instructions for submissions are on-line at http://www.johnbakker.info/

The Knox College Artist-in-Residence is made possible by support from Blick Art Materials, and hosted at The Bo​x​, a community arts space run by the Knox Art Department and located at Simmons and Kellogg in Galesburg.

Photos on this page: John Bakker in his workshop/studio, sample portraits from the Galesburg Portrait Project, box-panels prepared for the Galesburg project.