John Baldessari sticks it to the art world
- Text by Robin Nierynck
- Photography by See captions
John Baldessari’s new London exhibition Pictures & Scripts uses black and white film stills, juxtaposed with imaginary scripts, in a farcical parody of the art industry.
The film stills, which feature cowboys, gangsters and other characters, are cropped and removed of context for added ambiguity. The snippets of dialogue hint at conversations between art world insiders and the absurd perceptions that are cultivated in this self-contained bubble.
Now in his eighties, the Santa Monica artist has been experimenting with text and image since the mid-1960s, famously covering people’s faces in pictures with coloured dots.
An established name in art, Baldessari has never been afraid to lampoon the world he is part of, often resulting in hilarious displays of mockery. In 1967, he took a series of photos with intentionally bad compositions, naming it Wrong.
In 1970, he cremated all the art he made between 1953 and 1966, baking the ashes into cookies and collecting them in a bronze urn shaped like a book. He then created a work stating ‘I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art’.
Baldessari is a prolific artist and has been featured in more than 200 solo exhibitions and over 1000 group exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe. Who better than to tell his story than Tom Waits, who narrates this lovely short film about Baldessari’s work.
Pictures & Scripts is being displayed at the Marian Goodman Gallery, London, until 25 April.
Latest on Huck
Celebrating 20 years of The Mighty Boosh
A new exhibition takes a look behind the scenes of the iconic show two decades after its BBC3 premiere.
Written by: Isaac Muk
We Run Mountains: Black Trail Runners tackle Infinite Trails
Soaking up the altitude and adrenaline at Europe’s flagship trail running event, high in the Austrian Alps, with three rising British runners of colour.
The organisation levelling the playing field in the music industry
Founded in 2022, The Name Game is committed to helping female, non-binary and trans people navigate the industry.
Written by: Djené Kaba
Vibrant, rebellious portraits of young Cubans
A new photobook captures the young people redefining Cuban identity amidst increased economic and political turbulence on the Caribbean island.
Written by: Isaac Muk
How one photographer documented her own, ever-changing image
In her new photobook ‘A women I once knew’, Rosalind Fox Solomon charts the process of getting older through a series of stark self portraits taken over the course of decades.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Eddie Vedder on Kelly Slater
Read an excerpt from the Pearl Jam legend’s introduction to a new book on the surfing icon, documented by photographer Todd Glaser.
Written by: Eddie Vedder