Carl Baratta’s Art Merges Cultural Influences And Personal Mythology To Invite Viewers Into Complex, Immersive Worlds

Crafting New Narratives from Ancient Inspirations

 Carl Baratta discusses blending miniature art and mythology to convey layered stories, his community involvement his passion for creating a collective art world through artist-run spaces and exchange projects.

Carl Baratta stands as an inventive force in the contemporary art world, interweaving influences from ancient visual traditions, mythology modern life. Known for his vibrant use of colour, intricate storytelling unique fusion of stylistic sources, Baratta’s work transcends traditional narrative forms by evoking a sense of time and place that feels both ancient and refreshingly new. Drawing inspiration from Indian miniature and Sienese painting techniques, he captures a multiplicity of moments within a single frame, inviting viewers to explore layered stories that unfold through meticulous details and subtle references. His approach to storytelling isn’t linear; it’s a vivid, immersive experience that allows the audience to dive deeply into each scene, discovering something new with every viewing.

Baratta’s practice is as much about community as it is about art itself. As an active member of Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles and other collaborative artist spaces, he values the social and interactive elements of creation, engaging in projects that bridge artistic and cultural communities across regions. His work is a testament to the power of collaboration his ongoing dedication to these artist-run spaces reflects his commitment to fostering connections within the art world. In this exclusive interview with WOWwArt Magazine, Baratta opens up about the visual and narrative influences that shape his work, the balance of personal storytelling and cultural homage the profound role of community in his artistic journey.

Can you elaborate on how miniature painting and Sienese imagery influence your artistic process and the way you convey multiple moments in a single scene? 

Indian miniature and Sienese painting, despite their cultural differences, share intriguing pictorial similarities, particularly in how they illustrate pre-existing texts. Both styles capture key moments from stories, allowing viewers to uncover narratives through detailed examination. The images often feature multiple moments or actions within a single frame, using repetition of form and color to enhance understanding. While writing unfolds sequentially, paintings in general Indian and Sienese painting in particular, offer a holistic view that invites viewers to explore the narrative more deeply as they examine the details and construct the narrative for themselves. This is what I’m aiming for. 

You mention incorporating references to Norse mythology and other narrative sources. How do these elements shape the stories you tell through your art? 

I love how heartfelt and absurd mythology can be. To me, that’s when it’s at its best. I read lots of myths from all over the world because I enjoy them I’ve noticed over the years, the heartfelt sadness, absurd humor bad decisions made by the various characters really resonate with the types of open ended narratives that I want to show the viewer through painting. 

The analogy you use about Dr. Frankenstein reflects a unique approach to your work. Can you share more about how you “steal” stories and images to create something new? 

If you’re really going to steal you really have to have a clear understanding on which parts you are taking and why you are taking them. It will never be enough to just take something because you like it. The real question is, how do you reinvent what it is that drew you to the imagery in the first place? If you can get halfway to the heart of that question, I think you’re on the right track. Beyond examining the why of it, I will say that an artist can’t just willy-nilly lift patterns or poses without understanding their cultural significance. That’s gross and irresponsible. And there is A LOT of densely coded imagery that needs serious investigation before it goes into a piece. Anyway, that’s what got me started on this project 20 plus years ago. These days I riff on my own imagery that hopefully creates complicated feelings in the viewer. I’ve noticed I keep coming back to older imagery and recycling it, which creates this circular effect while creating paintings. That means something but I haven’t figured that out yet. I hope the next 20 years sheds some light on that. 

Being an active member of artist-run spaces like Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles, how has this community impacted your artistic practice and your relationships with other artists? 

Full disclosure: I usually don’t get blown away by contemporary art unless I know the artist. It’s weird, but my relationship to contemporary art making needs the human component. I’m a very social person, so luckily this works in my favor. I get to meet hundreds of amazing artists and get the privilege to see the artist in the work. That’s where I make a connection as a fellow contemporary human. In an artist-run space, you get to focus on the quality of the work and not worry about whether it can be sold to a collector. That frees me up to just enjoy the experience. It’s the other side of research. I look towards old fusty imagery from 400+ years ago to fuel my paintings, but I need the contemporary interaction to keep me going. 

You’ve completed several large-scale exchange projects this year. What are some key themes or ideas you explored in these projects? 

Yes! B-LA-M, B-LA, 5×5, ScandiLA, TRYST, NOMAD, High Beams – I think that’s all the major ones. It has been such a blast meeting new artists from around southern California, connecting to different like minded folks around the country and the world. Like any great friendship or working relationship, you need to foster it and work at it and these projects are how myself and some other organizing maniacs do it. That’s what these exchanges are about for me. If you look at all the projects as a whole, it’s about building a community and showing people that if we all work together we can make our own art world. I continuously work with the art community because it feels like the right thing that I should be doing. It feels good. I know I should write something more meaty or intellectual, but in the end I just really like hanging out with interesting people and listening to what they have to say.

How do you see your work evolving in the future, especially in relation to the collaborative and community-focused initiatives you’ve been involved with? 

That’s a really great question and I feel like I’m in the midst of another evolution so I don’t have a definitive answer. It feels exciting but I don’t know where it’s ultimately going. Being an artist who is actively engaged with the community is a lifestyle and I often feel like all of these endeavors are connected and complicated and my relationship to it all is ever changing although I’ve been working this way for over 2 decades I keep feeling like I’m just getting started. So keep your eyes peeled! I’ve got 2025 and 2026 planned out already and can’t wait to show everyone what myself and some others have been cooking on.