Nixon

Baj's art always exudes a strong irony, a grotesque effect, with depictions of subjects with an amused look. Beneath this amusing and playful appearance, his works reveal a strong political commitment and critique of society. Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, a period in which Baj painted subjects such as army generals and military parades. Men who are supposed to embody strength and power, but are instead depicted awkwardly, ironically and almost childishly.

All these characteristics are found in this silkscreen print and collage. The theme of this work is the parade. The background is given to us by a collage and the prevalence of brown color with a warm tone, on it we see depicted three figures of soldiers on parade, in fact as can be seen the figures are represented in motion. The figures of the servicemen here also stand out sharply from the background, the uniforms are embellished with simply drawn medals, their eyes wide open and their mouths completely open, as if to hint at a smile.

The three servicemen have different uniform colors respectively: on the left is maroon, in the center light blue, and on the right light green. The complete edition run is 250 copies. Work hand-signed at lower right and initialed E.A. (Epreuve d'Artiste) at lower left. The paper is yellowed at the edges.