The Stop Motion Worlds of Joe Baughman

Imagine a production studio: You walk past the set of an attached garage – a car, workbench, and sofa inside. You can see up the steps and through the open door that the rest of the house is missing. In the background, someone is working on the battery-powered lights to some street lamps. Around the corner is a nature scene with a giant fake tree in the middle. An otherworldly creature – a cross between a bird and a bear – is resting near the tree. Beyond that, you see painted mountains. Now, imagine all of this inside someone’s home.

These miniature worlds form the basis of artist Joe Baughman’s stop-motion animations, the likes of which you might have seen in music videos for Wilco, The Roots, and Julien Baker as well as his own band, Joe Baughman and the Righteous Few. Born in the Midwest and currently living in Mishawaka, Baughman is a cinematographer, director, stop-motion animator, and musician. He is also a sculptor, painter, and collage artist – working with all manner of media from clay to found objects to make his creations come to life. 

In a rare opportunity to see the inner workings of this stop-motion process, a selection of Baughman’s work is coming to the galleries at KAC. Sets, props, and characters will be displayed alongside the completed music videos for a true behind-the-curtain experience. 

Learn more about the work on view during special tours, artist talks, and virtual events. See all exhibition programs by clicking here.

Artwork: Set and stills from Vacant Spaces by Joe Baughman.