Caroline Langill, Shifting Polarities

Interview with Mowry Baden

Born in Los Angeles (California, U.S.) in 1936, Mowry Baden emigrated to British Columbia (Canada) in 1972. Baden’s life-long investigation of kinaesthetics – the body’s knowledge of its position in space – facilitated the incorporation of systems of interaction in his artworks. This body as laboratory approach to art practice influenced Baden’s teaching at Raymond College (1965-1968) and Pomona College (1968-1971) in California, where his students included Chris Burden and Charles Ray, and at the University of Victoria (British Columbia) where he is currently professor emeritus. His work was shown extensively in the United States and Canada and is included in many prestigious collections including the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (Ontario). In 2006 Baden received a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in recognition of his contribution to the field.