Lecture: John Baldessari, 2/7/07

I really enjoyed the lecture on John Baldessari. I had heard the name before, and had been shown examples of his work (some of the Blasted Allegory) in another art class, as examples of forcing narrative by sequencing images and words, based on the preconstructed way that we read and how we assume that images placed next to each other are related.

I thought it was very interesting how he played with preexisting thought patterns (like the creation of narrative), and constructions like linguistics and the connecting of words with images. I also found it interesting how he played with art's "basic conditions"-- wondering if art required a viewer, like with "This image is not to be looked at"; if art needs to work on more than one level, as in "A work with only one property"; and the presence or lack thereof in the work of art versus the viewer/reader as producer of content. I also liked his concept of "right" versus "wrong" art, as displayed in some of his photographs, that the art requires the belief of the viewer that the work is art to become art.

What I liked best about his art was the irony and humor involved within it. Often art can be either Serious Business™ and therefore accepted by the art world, or it can be humorous and therefore not taken as seriously as Serious Business™ art because the humorous art is seen only as light amusement. Baldessari's art was humor and Serious Business™ at once because it was questioning the art world's conventions using humor and irony.

I'm glad that I attended this lecture, so now I can attach ideas and pictures to a name, rather than that name just ringing a vague bell.