Lloyd Patrick Baker

Lloyd Patrick Baker, born 1929, is an artist whose elegiac words and striking photography, composed over decades, still ring with prophetic verity today. He regards his opus "Ephemera" as a reflective journal that takes on surrealistic tones as he combines his interests and experiences as a child of the high desert and the Great Depression.

Growing up in the Klamath basin as the son of a uranium miner, Lloyd studied taxidermy, ballistics and was one the first in Oregon to practice falconry. He served as a photographer in Germany during the Cold War and upon his return home continued his study of art the Portland Art Museum School. Lloyd has a BA and MFA from Indiana University and was awarded a Fulbright grant to study ceramics in Finland.

Ll

Lloyd Patrick Baker, born 1929, is an artist whose elegiac words and striking photography, composed over decades, still ring with prophetic verity today. He regards his opus "Ephemera" as a reflective journal that takes on surrealistic tones as he combines his interests and experiences as a child of the high desert and the Great Depression.

Growing up in the Klamath basin as the son of a uranium miner, Lloyd studied taxidermy, ballistics and was one the first in Oregon to practice falconry. He served as a photographer in Germany during the Cold War and upon his return home continued his study of art the Portland Art Museum School. Lloyd has a BA and MFA from Indiana University and was awarded a Fulbright grant to study ceramics in Finland.

Lloyd first became politically aware at a young age after observing the treatment of Japanese Americans in the internment camp in Tule Lake, CA. A passionate activist since his youth, he fought the dumping of over 25K barrels of 2,4-D and Agent Orange ingredients in Eastern Oregon, and has been a vocal witness against the destructive nature of man and war.

Lloyd's poetry is enriched by his love of Eastern Oregon and a lifelong engagement with languages, etymology, geology, ornithology, archaeology and history. He combines popular expressions with his own unique form of line, rhythms, and word forms. His poetic voice is unique, somber, challenging and engaging for those of serious mindset about today's events and the questionable future we face.