8
NOVEMBER 9�17, 2021
BEHIND THE SCENES
FROM THE
COVER
‘The Evolution of Human Consciousness’
Baker City artist Tom Novak unveiled
his newest public art piece on Oct. 28
By Lisa Britton
Go! Magazine
AKER CITY — You won’t fi nd
any familiar book titles in
Tom Novak’s newest creation.
The bronze tower of stacked
books, winding in a DNA-like
spiral to a height of 11 feet, is his
way of showing the progression
of humankind.
He calls it “The Evolution of
Human Consciousness.” The
sculpture was installed Oct. 28 in
front of Betty’s Books, 1813 Main
St. in Baker City.
He started it in 2018 and spent
about eight months carving book
shapes out of dense foam. Blue
Mountain Fine Art took the cre-
ation from foam to bronze this fall.
Novak has designed a brochure
to explain his process. The inspira-
tion, he writes, was “what I feel is
an increasing level of intolerance
in our society, an intolerance that
lies at the root of all chauvinism,
B
Lisa Britton/Go! Magazine
Tom Novak made “list after list after list” when deciding what words to feature
on the book spines of this sculpture, which stands 11 feet tall.
First Friday at Crossroads
M ud & F ire
2020 Auburn Avenue
Baker City, Oregon
541.523.5369
www.crossroads-arts.org
Genie Sue Weppner presents a First Friday exhibit
that is set ablaze with an eclectic collection of Raku ceramic pieces
which bring forth a modern take on historic techniques
Exhibition on display Friday, November 5 through Monday, November 29
Crossroads is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm
bullying, bigotry and racism; all
forms of separation, toxic states of
being that lead to aggression, suf-
fering, violence and even death.”
The bottom book, the base, is
titled “Physicality” — the begin-
ning of the journey of life.
The titles wind upward
through “Joy” and “Curiosity.”
Then the tone changes to “Dif-
ferences,” “Ego,” “Competition”
and “Prejudice.”
“Then you get up here halfway
— to war,” Novak said.
Next are “Worldwide Suff ering,”
“Treaty” and “Surrender.”
“Then it gets into more trans-
formative thoughts,” he said.
Titles take on a diff erent tone,
moving through “Empathy” and
“Compassion” to the very top
where we fi nd the book titled
”Oneness,” with a tree growing
out of it and a small sign next to
the tree that reads “Many leaves,
One tree.”
“You discover your true nature,”
Novak said.
The tower is made of 39 vol-
umes. Near the middle are three
smaller ones with one message:
“We change the world ... one act of
kindness ... at a time.”
Novak would like to see this
sculpture, and others like it,
installed near libraries and college
campuses. It is for sale. For infor-
mation, contact him at tnovak@
eoni.com.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Novak attended the Art Insti-
tute of Chicago and moved to
the Baker City area in 1975. He
opened an art studio in 1979.
“I’ve done nothing but art ever
since,” he said. “The people of
Baker have supported me all that
time.”
Until recently, he was primarily
an oil painter. He currently has
paintings on display in the Room
31 Sculpture gallery at Churchill
School in Baker City.