‘I’m Always Interested in Things That We Don’t Call Art’: Watch the Late Conceptualist John Baldessari Reflect on His Career as an Artist and Educator

by admin

Jan 9, 2020

artnet

“I’m always interested in things that
we don’t call art,” the late conceptual artist John Baldessari says in an episode of Art21’s Art in
the Twenty-First Century series. The artist, who died this week in
California at the age of 88, appeared on an episode highlighting
“Systems” back in 2009, and explained his career-long quest to
upend the conventions of what constitutes art in the first
place.

“All of a sudden, because I said it’s art, somebody believes
me!” He says, laughing. Indeed, the California-based
artist viewed the world, and the art within it, with a healthy dose
of skepticism and wit. Baldessari’s practice included mixing found
images sourced from textbooks, magazines, and advertisements with
disparate words or sentences. The works could be read as either a
humorous juxtaposition, or on a deeper level, as a criticism of the
institutionalization of art education and the commodification of
art. “If you’re looking at two things, don’t look at
them… look between them, because there’s that stuff too.”

Production still from the “Art in the
Twenty-First Century” Season 5 episode, “Systems,” 2009. © Art21,
Inc. 2009.

In the interview, which follows the artist around his studio as
he prepared for the inaugural exhibition at LA’s Broad Contemporary
Art Museum, Baldessari credits his sister for encouraging him to
get a teaching degree—just in case the whole art thing didn’t work
out.

In the end, that was his saving grace, sharing his distinct
perspective with students at the distinguished Cal Arts
program and later at UCLA. The interview includes commentary from the artist Amalia Saban, who
back in 2009 worked as an assistant to Baldessari. “I think he
taught me to be human when it comes to the work… there is something
very humble about the way he works, it’s a lifetime commitment to
the work.”

Watch the video, which originally appeared as part
of Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series,
below.

This is an installment of “Art on Video,” a collaboration
between artnet News and Art21 that brings you clips of newsmaking
artists. A new series of the nonprofit Art21’s flagship series Art
in the Twenty-First Century is available now on PBS. Catch all
episodes of other series like New York Close Up and Extended Play
and learn about the organization’s educational programs
at Art21.org.

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